Water Lily
by Morgana Shea
Summary: A young woman with nothing to lose leaves her own world to find a new life and hopefully a purpose behind it. What will happen when she washes up on the dock of the most deviant man in Albion? Rated M for language and later scenes.
1. The Little Runaway

Water Lily

Hello all! Thank you for deciding to read my story! Just to let you know, this story is rated M for a reason. It has a lot of nasty language and adult situations that are not for younger audiences.

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for my female protagonist. She is mine.

Warning: Chapter one doesn't need much warning. Just language and a lot of angst in this chapter.

Please enjoy!

Chapter One: A Little Runaway

"Where could you possibly go?" an angry, mocking voice sneered, a tone that implied a sense of victory at hand. "You have no job, no transportation, no friends who can take you in, all you have is me." A sarcastic smile showing tobacco-stained teeth leered confidently. "Which means, as long as you stay here you do as I say."

She stared rebelliously at the speaker and blew a cloud of smoke into the already thick air. The reply was easy, eerily natural. "Then I'll kill myself and live in hell. The conditions and the caretaker will be better then what I have here, scuz-bag."

The cigarette was slapped from her hand and two large hands pinned her as her verbal adversary loomed over her. "Just try it. I know you're not brave enough to do it. So like I said, you're staying here and doing as I say until I get sick of looking at your ripped mug."

She flinched at the attack made on the scar that ran from her jaw to right underneath her left eye. The damage had been done not even two years ago by her rapist and a switchblade when she dared to oppose him. Now she not only had the wretched memory, she also had an ugly reminder stamped on her face for the rest of her life. She turned her head toward the window and let out an irritated sigh. "If I pretend to comply will you just leave me the hell alone?"

"Dirty little ingrate." The person holding her withdrew and lit another cigarette. "Just finish the work before sunrise and I won't make you work the rest of the day tomorrow. And stop taking my smokes, get your own you dirty bitch."

She watched the landlord leave the room, then snatched up her still-lit cigarette from where it had been feebly clinging to life. "Wish I could get out of here," she muttered darkly to herself. "But it's not like anyone wants to hire a greasy, poorly dressed waif with a gash on her face." A contemplative smoke ring drifted lazily toward the ceiling as the girl contemplated her options. She could finish scrubbing the floors, walls, windows, toilets, dishes and furniture in the few hours that she had and shoot for a few hours of sleep the next day, or she could try to run away again. Unfortunately, she knew if she was caught and dragged back it would be a week of no food, chained and blindfolded to a wall in the basement of the house... again. She weighed her odds carefully for a few moments, then closed her eyes. "Big brother," she whispered quietly. "What should I do? What would you want me to do?"

One moment, then another, and another one later, and a song gently permeated the walls of the room. It was a song she was very familiar with... Apple Blossom by the White Stripes.

"Lots of girls walk around in tears,

but that's not for you.

You've been looking all around for years

For someone to tell your troubles to...

Come and sit with me and talk a while,

lemme see your pretty little smile.

Put your troubles in a little pile,

and I will sort them out for you.

I'll fall in love with you.

I think I'll marry you."

She smiled as the song closed, a crease dimpling her scar. "Like hell I'm gonna give up and stay here. I'm out,and this time, I won't be caught."

She got up and quietly began stuffing what little she had into a bag made out of an old shirt. Last of all she raided the TV room where she knew there would be random money and a carton of cigarettes. She grabbed seven packs and managed to find about twenty five dollars, not to mention a few valuables like watches and rings and a fully charged ipod. She clambered through a window above the TV, slipped out and landed lightly on the ground, already thrilled with her findings and her escape.

It looked clean outside, so she chanced lighting a cigarette before she started fast-walking down the street. Before she went anywhere, there was one stop she had to make; The Rec Park.

She hopped the fence with practiced ease and made for the lake in the center. She let her hand brush against trees and benches, remembering happier times spent there. When she was much younger, she and her brother would come here at least twice a week to play or smoke n secret, or to just hang out. Then they grew up.

She kicked a rock that had grown in front of her heavily treading feet.

Her brother joined the military as a last resort when no other jobs could be found. He used his income to take care of his little sister as best he could, but there was only so much he could do.

Then December 3rd happened. She had been kidnapped from the same park that she walked through now. She had been raped and almost killed by a man the police never found. Big brother ended up sinking all of his money into the hospital bills and beer. He tried to comfort her, but not even a week later, he was sent overseas, and he was shot and killed.

She stared at the lake from the shore, remembering how she had been here when the police found her and informed her of her brothers death. Now she was older, harder, used to being on her own. But she still wanted to give her respects to the one person who ever cared about her before she tried escaping again. She wandered out onto a pier that led to a small round building built at the lakes center. She pulled the t-shirt bag open and pulled out an unused bullet and a shattered White Stripes Cd. With great care she wrapped these safe inside a military glove and tied it tight with a guitar string. She didn't wince when the metal cord cut her finger on the glove. Then she stood up, holding the lumpy bundle out over the water, waited for more blood to fill her hand, then dropped it with a small shower of her blood.

It sank quickly, five thin red wisps rising from the finger tips as it vanished to the bottom of the lake. She exhaled loudly and sat down, lighting another cigarette and saluting the falling moon with the smoke. "Here's to you, big bro," She said quietly, leaning back and taking a hard drag. It burned her throat and made her eyes water, something that rarely happened. When she went to scrub her eyes an angry tendril of smoke stabbed at her eyeballs, making her fling the burning thing into the lake while cursing her luck.

If her eyes had been clear she might have noticed the way the water grew darker, and how the darkness seemed to be bubbling up from under the little building. If she had been paying attention she might have noticed the low throbbing noise that seemed to rush over the surface of the water. What forced her to clear her eyes and pay attention was the serene, yet powerful voice that demanded her to stand. She leapt up, startled, but not frightened, and hoping a cop hadn't found her. She saw no one, but noticed the darkened water and heard the dark noise that surrounded her.

"What in all of-" she stopped when the voice rent her consciousness again.

"Do not be afraid little runaway."

"Like hell I would be anyway!" she sputtered angrily, gripping the rail until her knuckles were white. "Why? Should I be?" She looked into the water and it looked like a red hand was extended invitingly toward her and the surface of the water.

"Not at all, because today is the day where you realize your destiny."

"Where are you?"

"You have nothing left to tie you to this world-"

"I asked you a question!"

"... so you have no reason not to leave and come to the place-"

"And who are you?"

"... where you were meant to belong."

The words "to belong" crashed through her skull and she found herself crouching in front of the rail, punching the support beam until it broke and splashed into the water. "What do you want me to do?"

"Jump into the water where you dropped your brother's possessions. I will take care of the rest."

"You're not going to kill me, are you?"

"Would you honestly care so much if I did?"

She blinked at this, then allowed herself an amused smile. "Guess not. Here I go. I hope you know what you're talking about, crazy lady."

She looked into the water and saw that the red extended hand had turned into a black, bubbling hole, sending ripples into the rest of the still lake. She smiled and tied bag onto her back more securely before climbing onto the rail and diving cleanly into the rippling water beneath her.

In an instant the ripples stopped, the water lightened, the throbbing ceased and she was lost completely from view to anyone who might have been watching. Everything was still, a bird dared to sing, and the first ray of sunlight shattered what was left of the night.

So there is chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading.

Spoiler: next chapter we're finally going to get to see our favorite deviant... Yay!


	2. Mansion Stirrings

Hello Readers! I love you for continuing to chapter two! You guys are the best! I hope you are enjoying my story so far, because I really enjoy writing it.

I love writing Reaver. He is so much fun, and he is such an ass. I just love it. 3

Warning: Chapter Two is pretty tame. There is more language and a little bit of sexy teasing from Reaver, but other than that there isn't much to warn against.

Chapter 2: Mansion Stirrings

_Morning is such a dreary thing_, he thought, covering his eyes with the crook of his arm. _If only the night could stay forever and we would never have to face the light of day_. A sarcastic smile went to dimple his cheeks and wrinkle a heart-shaped tattoo on his left cheek. "Ah well, then I suppose the land would be a freezing wasteland and infested with all sorts of nasty creatures, which would be a little more of a bother than I would want to bother with or tolerate."

Sheets rustled and slid across his smooth skin as he rose and drew his arm across his forehead. He turned his eyes toward the canopy over his bed and frowned at a long tear in the red fabric. Last night's activities were very dark and exciting, but also rowdy and exhausting so the little sleep he allowed himself only barely refreshed him. He sighed, rose and dressed himself in a silky robe, stepping out of his room and squinting angrily at the light coming through the windows.

"G-morning master-"

"Hush, I don't want to see those pouty lips of yours form another word," he muttered at the young blonde girl who had appeared in front of him. "What I do want is to see those nimble little hands working busily to make me tea and brekky as fast as they can." He opened one eye and looked down at the nervous maid. "I trust the rest of my 'guests' have been escorted home, or locked away."

She smiled eagerly. "Yessir, and the ones who, er, didn't last the night were disposed of in Silverpines."

"Good girl, clever move that." He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes again. He grinned at the sound of the maid shuffling uneasily and said, "I do believe I requested sustenance, m'dear, and I think that if when I open my eyes, if you are still there I will put a bullet right between those lovely swollen breasts of yours." He allowed one eye to crack open and he watched her spring away and practically sprint to the kitchen as fast as her skirts would allow. "Tatty-bye," he called after her, chuckling quietly to himself. "Though the thick little thing didn't even realize I don't have my piece on me. Better go get it." He spun smartly on his heel and sauntered back to his room, already in a much better mood.

XxX

"Someone put the tea on and get those eggs into the pan. The master is awake and he wants a good breakfast as fast as possible!"

A middle-aged man with silvering hair and stern yellow eyes put his hands on the flustered maid's shoulders. "Calm down there, Lucy m'gel. We will take care of the food, you take care of making the tea the way master likes it. He favors yours the most, y'know. We just received a case of red tea, why don't ye whip up some of that for him?"

The maid smiled and nodded, then turned and scuttled away to find her favorite tea pot.

"Such a good gel," the silver-haired cook muttered, putting a pepper and some ham onto a chopping board. "When she's done I might send her back to her home. I'm sure the master won't miss her."

Like a crack of thunder a gunshot rang out, making everyone in the kitchen groan and roll their eyes. Most likely it was one of their master's "guests" from the night before. A long howl confirmed their suspicions and with a weary groan the kitchen lurched back into action.

XxX

The gilded gun slipped back into the holster on his side, a strand of loose hair being blown out of his eyes by the roar of the monster he had just shot. "Bloody beast," he muttered to himself, pulling the goggles off of his eyes and back onto his tall black hat. He stared at the writhing creature on the ground, watching as it slowly shed it's fur coat and turned into a small naked girl twitching on his floor. "At least the experiments are working better than they were last week. I'm amazed this week little thing was able to break out of her cage at all." He grinned and rolled her over with his foot, then stepped back. "Barry!"

An orange-haired man scurried into the hallway and bowed low. "Yes mastah?"

"Clean this mess up, pronto, and have someone drop it in Silverpines with the others." He grinned crookedly at the twisted body on his floor. "Such a pity, she would have made a lovely addition to my secret circle of friends." He winked at his servant, turned and removed himself from the hallway, wondering out loud, "I wonder if my bloody tea is ready yet?" He pulled his white and black coat more securely around his shoulders and sauntered down to the main entrance room where he placed himself in a seat next to the stairs and sat, tapping his cane against the stone floors.

A feminine white face peeped around the door frame of the kitchen, then pulled back again quickly, seeming to trigger a raucous commotion of banging and clanging and yelling and general kitchen chaos.

The master of the house allowed himself a cheshire-like smile as he listened to the commotion, basking in the idea of having the power he had. He glanced up, flicking the black hair from his eyes and gazed at the many portraits of himself hanging on the walls all over his house. He chuckled darkly as he recalled the many mysterious deaths of many of the painters that had served him. Fortunately their deaths made the pictures much more valuable, as he had anticipated when he had fired his gun into each of their hearts.

"M-m-master?" The little blonde maid he had threatened before was standing not even two feet out of the kitchen, holding a tray with a cup, a pot full of tea, and a sugar and a cream bowl. "Um, your tea is ready, and breakfast will be served shortly."

He looked at her, arching his eyebrows and curling his lips into a charming, irresistible grin. "Come come, little one, no need to hover there." He stood with a flourish of his cane, stretching his long torso like a cat as he rose. "I would like to take my tea outside today, if you don't mind."

The young maid smiled and nodded, relaxing a bit. "Yessir, just let me pop outside and send the guards away so you can have your tea in peace-"

"No need, m'gel. I will deal with the little rip 'self, thankee." He winked at the nervous look on her face. "Tut-tut, don't look so distressed. I won't hurt the lad... unless he makes me." With that and a merry laugh he made full use of his long legs and was out of the door before the girl had even moved from the kitchen threshold.

XxX

The young guard pulled himself more smartly to attention when he heard the door of the mansion open and shut again. He stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the sound of the soft boots and metal cane that were approaching him. He managed to focus on a distant tree and was beginning to relax a little when he suddenly realized the owner of the mansion was right behind him. The young guard gulped, staring straight ahead and trying hard not to run.

"Come now, you naughty boy, it hurts my feelings when you ignore me."

The guard bit his lip and forced himself to remain still... until he felt a strong, slender hand start to slide up his inner thigh.

The master of the house grinned and set his cane on his shoulder, watching the guard sprint out of the gate and toward the region called Driftwood. He grinned triumphantly at his maid as she scurried down the front steps of the house. She smiled sweetly at the man waiting for her, then shook her head.

"Sir, what on earth did you do to that poor boy?"

The master smiled and winked at her. "Only offered him something it seems he isn't up to accepting."

The maid shook her head and smiled, then gasped when the man curled an arm around her waist and took a sip of tea from the cup on the platter. He winced slightly and gulped it down, taking a step back and looking into the drained cup.

"What's in this?"

"The red tea you ordered and three shots of brandy. I thought you would like it."

He grimaced again, pouring another cup. "Next time try gin or wine, pet." He took another gulp, turning his black eyes toward his dock that descended into Bower lake. He frowned and lowered the cup from his lips, staring at a twitching heap draped over the wooden steps coming from the water. "Lucy, come with me." He set his cup back onto the tray and walked briskly to where the convulsing figure was defiling his dock.

She rolled onto her back, coughing and gagging on the water she knew was in her lungs. "Fuck me," she gasped hoarsely, trying to suck in precious air.

"Is that an offer, m'gel?"

She looked up through bleary eyes, trying to make out the black and white figure hovering above her. "The fuck are you?" she hissed, doubling up as the man brought his fist down firmly into her stomach. The action made her begin coughing up more lake water than she knew her lungs could hold.

The man recoiled, watching her purge her lungs, before responding. "Someone who doesn't approve of such nasty language coming from such a pretty mouth." He frowned in distaste as she hacked up one last stream of green water and collapsed on the stairs she was draped over. He rolled back and stood up, looking at the girl with something akin to amusement on his face. "Lucy!"

"Yes master?"

"Take this mangled thing and put her in a bath, dress her in something decent and put her in my bed to rest."

"Your bed?"

"So I can get at her before the other servants do, of course. No go!"

The maid curtseyed and went to try and lift the strange girl, eventually dragging her to her feet and helping her limp inside the mansion.

The master of the house stood and watched, leaning on his cane with a smirk on his face. He turned back to look out on the lake, then noticed another bundle about the size of a torso flung messily on the bottom step of his dock. He sighed and gingerly picked it up, turning and returning to his grand house.

_Such a pity,_ he thought as he deposited the bundle into an empty basin in his room. _My quiet, lovely morning ruined. But even so, this might turn out to be most interesting..._

Hooray! Chapter Two is done! Thank you for reading, and sorry for the cliffhanger... I know I suck. XD

Spoiler: (yes I am going to do a warning at the beginning and a spoiler at the end of every chapter. I won't give too much away, just enough to tease you with what is to come.) Chapter Three is just my female protagonist's introduction to Reaver's household. It just kind of shows the level of energy in the house and sets a slightly different atmosphere.

Reaver: About time I make an appearance in this pathetic word-vomit of yours!

Me: Be nice or I'll have a balverine eat you!

Reaver: **click** Alrighty then.

Me: Or... you won't have any sex for at least seven chapters!

Reaver" **points gun at my face** Excuse me?

Me: You heard me!

Reaver: **bang!**

Me: **run away giggling** Missed!


	3. Unaware and Unafraid

Hello hello, and welcome to chapter three! I hope you enjoy it, and if you really really enjoy it you should review... ;) but you don't have to if you don't want.

Warning: Well she is in the tub for most of this chapter, but I don't really describe her nakedness... it just kind of is there in the back of your mind like, oh yeah, she's naked. Anyhoo, Reaver also gets a hard-on in this chapter, but what else is new, and there is nasty language again.

Chapter Three: Unaware and Unafraid

She was barely aware of being brought into the house.

She was vaguely aware of being stripped of her soggy clothes.

She was somewhat aware of being lowered into a hot bath...

However, when rough, soapy bath sponges began scrubbing her whole body from every direction and a slender pair of hands started working a rich lather into her hair she came fully aware and regained all her senses in an instant. She sat up quickly an tried to fight back, but another pair of hands restrained her and she was pushed back into the tub and the vigorous scrubbing continued.

"Really hun, I don't know how you managed to get yourself such a mess," an older womanly voice said in a warm tone. "You're saturated with filth from that lake and your hair is like a tangled black birds nest! I've already tried combing it, but until it's washed and dried I'm afraid there isn't a thing I can do with it."

"Uh... ummm..."

"Hush hush, you don't need to talk. Just relax and let us clean you up. You'll feel clean and refreshed and ready for some nap time that will put you right back on your feet."

"Oh... okay." The girl gulped and let herself sink back into the soapy water, wondering why it was so hard and painful to speak. Probably all that vomiting and coughing up lake water shredded her throat. That made the most sense.

Another female voice spoke while a soft cloth scrubbed at the girl's face. "How d'ye s'pose she got this big ol' scar on 'er face, eh?"

The girl rose up, eyes flashing, and managed to gurgle out, "f-f-fuck you... bit-t-tch!"

The warm-voiced lady quickly pushed her back into the bath again and gently chided her unsavory words. "Calm yourself, young one, little Lucy meant no offense. She's young as you and a mite curious as all youngsters are. Do not feel insulted, there is nothing you need to be ashamed of. Besides, you're a lovely young lady and you shouldn't use such language. It's unbecoming."

The young voice timidly broke in, "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

The girl closed her eyes, exhaustion penetrating her very bones. She just wanted to go to sleep and block out all of whatever was happening.

"Don't go to sleep yet, sweet girl. Just wait a little longer until we can put you in some pajamas and lay you down in a soft bed."

She opened only one eye, a strand of black hair sealing shut her other one. Her vision was still very blurry and she could only make out vague, fuzzy shapes, but she tried her best to smile at the warm-voiced lady who was trying so hard to comfort her.

"Ladies..."

A tirade of excited giggles burst out after the manly voice invaded the bathroom. A very high-pitched, very young girl's voice called out, "oh hello master Reaver!"

_Reaver?_ The girl thought, flicking the black strands of hair from her face and trying to focus her eyes. All she could see was something similar to the black and white figure from before on the dock. _And she called him master? Is he some sort of millionaire and this is some sort of mansion where he has hot young girls serving him- oh shit..._ She gulped and sunk her head slightly into the water, hoping the mysterious man wouldn't show any interest in her.

"So how is our watery flower doing?"

_Well fuck me in the ass._

"Coming along nicely, master Reaver," the lady with the warm voice said calmly. "She is quite the flower isn't she, with her silky black hair, big blue eyes and soft white skin like a lily petal..."

"Indeed," the man purred. "Like a little water lily."

_Can I please disappear?_

"Yes, master Reaver, just like a water lily, and as delicate as one right now, I daresay." The warm lady spoke sternly toward the black and white man in the doorway. "She should be dressed and dry very soon, but once we put her down to rest I expect you to leave her be. The poor dear is battered and just plain exhausted."

"Tut tut, we can't be having that. She shall have her full rest, but do make sure you put her in the red silk pajamas. They should be more comfortable than the white ones and I can only imagine how ravishing she will look in them. Oh and skip my bedchamber and put her to bed in my chamber. It is far more... peaceful in there." A dark, manly chuckle and a door shutting ended the conversation, leaving an icy silence in the steamy room.

Then the tittering started again as the girl was lifted out of the tub and scrubbed down with several plush towels.

"You hear that? Master Reaver wants her taken directly to his pleasure chamber!"

"Sure, he will let her get her full rest, it's when she wakes up that the fun will begin!"

"Oh! Please let me take her there! I've only been in there once to clean up after the chicken party!"

"No, little one, I will be the one to take her, and you'll not say another word about it."

"He better let you rest for a while before taking you, but the gleam in his eyes said if he did let you rest you would never leave that room again!"

"Hush, you're going to scare her! The girls are just teasing. Master Reaver only wants you in there so you can have extra peace and quiet. He is actually very... erm... generous when he wants to be."

"Generous with his hands!"

"And his mouth!"

"And his-"

"Quiet! Not another word! Now put those jammies on her without another peep or I'll tan your bums like your mothers never did!"

XxX

The master of the house shoved himself away from the door, swinging his cane and chuckling to himself. He had seen what he wanted to see. The girl had an exquisite body, luscious raven black hair exotically cut above her neck in the back and down to her shoulders in the front, those huge blue eyes and that pale lily-white skin... "such a pretty little water lily I've happened to catch..." he chuckled, licking his lips in anticipation. He had never been choosy with his conquests, but this girl was quite a specimen, beautiful and exotic and mysterious, even more so because she had come from the lake. He chuckled again as an image of the girl tangled up helplessly in a fishing net came into his mind. The vision made him growl lustfully and he found himself leaning against the wall, allowing more visions of the little beauty run through his mind and tighten his trousers.

"Just you wait, my enticing little lily, I'll give you plenty of time to rest up and recover from your swim today. Once you're refreshed and reinvigorated, then I will escort you on the romp of your life!"

XxX

The girl had her arm slung around the shoulder of the warm-voiced lady who had turned out to be a large woman with light brown hair and a threadbare blue apron. The lady supported her young charge and smiled sympathetically when they came to a set of descending stairs.

"Don't worry deary, we will be there in a little bit, then I'll put you in the most comfortable bed you've slept in in your entire life."

The girl groaned incoherently as they began to go down the steps, her feet dragging pathetically against the hard stone. _I don't care if it's a rock with a layer of straw strewn on it_, she thought, keeping her malfunctioning eyes on the steps, _I just want to lay down and sleep for a hundred years._

She was made to lean against a tapestry hanging on the stone wall as the lady opened up a door that led into a red-tinted room. Then the girl was hauled upright again and led into the room. She gasped as her whole being was suddenly swamped in the color red and a musky, manly smell. She tried as hard as she could to bring her surroundings into focus, but the room remained a red blur to her exhausted eyes.

All of a sudden she was released and her back hit the softest bed she had ever lain in in her life. She allowed herself to be rearranged and tucked in underneath an incredibly soft and fluffy blanket. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, ignoring the lady as she spoke soothingly next to her ear.

_Shut up, shut up, shut up,_ she thought as she drifted off in the bed. _Just shut up... I want to sleep... I swear to god if you don't let me sleep I will cut you... right in... the..._

"Zzz..."

Well there's chapter three. Sorry, it's kind of slow and nothing much happened, but I just wanted it to be like a lead up to the next chapter rather than to combine them.

Spoiler: Female protagonist and Reaver interaction in the next chapter, let the sexiness begin! Muahahahaha!


	4. Don't Throw Things

Welcome to chapter four, and get ready to finally see some exciting Reaver action on our little heroine. I just love the way the two interact with each other... I find it hilarious, but I am just the conceited author. XD I hope you enjoy!

Warning: There is language, once again, not for the eyes of the faint. Also, there is Reaver in this chapter. Sexy Reaver. Sexy Reaver doing his thing to try and seduce the female who was sleeping in his bed. Not too graphic, and they don't go too far, but it's still for a slightly more mature audience.

Chapter Four: Don't Throw Things

When she opened her eyes the first thing she was aware of was the warm, hard lump snuggled up next to her in the delicious red bed she was tangled in. She rolled her eyes to look around the room, taking in the various toys and bondage devices and other things that looked like they belonged in a torture chamber. There were racks and ropes and a huge black cage swinging next to the door.

She simply laid there for a few months, completely surprised and unsure of what to do. Taking a deep breath she chanced a glance at the warm lump snuggled up against her.

"Hey, um..." she stopped and simply stared. A shirtless man with raven black hair and a heart-shaped tattoo on his left cheekbone lay there, breathing peacefully. She stared at him for a few moments, unashamedly appreciating how raw, raunchy and flat out attractive he was. "Alright, enough of that," she muttered to herself. She pulled the covers back, took a moment to rip a red silk night cap off of her head, then swung her feet onto the floor, stretching briefly before making to stand.

She clenched her teeth against a surprised noise when a long arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back into the sheets. She looked into the upside-down face of the man who was now wearing a cheshire cat grin and rested her head on his thigh.

"And where are you running off to, my pet?"

"Wherever I want, thank you very much," the girl threw out without missing a beat. She tried pulling away from him, but when he didn't let go she slumped back into his lap and let out a displeased sigh.

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise when she rolled over slightly and ran a small white hand slowly up one of his thighs, working her slender fingers inside his underpants. He chuckled and leaned back, encouraging her. "That's the spirit m'gel..." he suddenly stopped, stiffened, and like lightning was holding his gun to the side of her head.

She stared at him, cold and unflinching. "You let me leave or I promise I'll rip them off and make you eat them."

He pressed the gun harder against her temple, the cocky grin returning. "My my, feisty aren't we? I'll make you a deal, little water lily: either you put that soft little hand of yours to better use or let go altogether, because if you don't do either I may be forced to shoot you."

They stared at each other for a few moments, cold black eyes meeting icy blue. The man inhaled sharply and tightened his grip on the gun when her tiny hand started moving against him, then she withdrew and beat a hasty retreat to the other side of the bed. The man sighed in disappointment and set the gun on the bed next to him, watching the girl as she put her feet on the floor and looked around the room.

She turned, fixing a hard stare on the man. "Where are my things?"

"Well I could tell you, I suppose," the man said, reclining and tapping the gun against his chin. "Or I could watch you scurry around looking for it and maybe give you hints in return for some specific favors..." He dodged a pair of manacles thrown at his head. "I'm sorry, love, but when things are thrown at me I like to make use of them."

She turned in time to see him lunge across the room with incredible speed and before she could react he had her pinned to the wall. She opened her mouth in protest but before she could make a sound he flipped her around and clipped her wrists securely into the manacles. Taking a step back to admire his handiwork, he chuckled as the girl growled and hissed insults and obscenities at him.

"Tut tut, deary, such language, and from such a pretty mouth. I say we should put it to better use." He made her kneel by expertly kicking the back of her knees and gently lowering her down so she wasn't harmed at all. He positioned himself in front of her, looking down at her pale, furious face as she stared back up at him.

"You try and put that in my mouth and I swear I will bite it off."

He laughed and bent over, pulling her head back by her tousled black hair and nipping her throat tantalizingly before picking her up and tossing her unceremoniously onto the bed. He watched her struggle, her ass in the air and her lower back exposed as the red silk slid quietly across her white skin, her hands chained behind her and her hair ruffled adorably around her face. He licked his lips, feeling the lust filling him and savoring the flavor and anticipation of the moment before striding over and grabbing the manacle chains and yanking her back so she collapsed into him.

"I must say, you are quite a sight, my water lily, thrashing around like that in my bed. It makes me want to join you, and maybe this little play date could become something much more interesting." He pushed her chin to one side and began ravishing the exposed skin on the back of her neck where the hair fell shorter than the rest. He pulled her more completely against him as he crawled into the bed and forced her into his lap, still holding her by the manacles and moving down her back with his talented mouth.

The girl curled up as best she could, trying to squirm away from him, but being held in place by the goddamn manacle chain. She growled and tried to kick at the man, but her legs were curled up beneath her and completely useless. "Stoppit," she hissed when he nipped at her spine playfully.

"But why," he purred, snaking an arm around her waist and cradling her much smaller frame. "Are you not enjoying yourself?"

"No," she said flatly, curling away from him.

He released her in surprise, letting her squirm away considerably before reaching out and releasing the manacles.

She rolled over and glared at him, kicking herself away and hopping out of the bed again. She began searching the drawers and cupboards and cabinets, leaving the silent man sitting alone on his bed. "Good to see you have some sense in that head of yours," she said quietly.

"If I may ask, which head are you referring to?" He ducked when a blueberry pie was thrown at his head. "Now now, darling, don't make me be creative here." He smiled charmingly to match the glare she shot at him. "And if you keep looking at me like that I might have to force you to show me a more infuriated display. You do look ravishing when you're all flushed and bothered."

She simply sighed and continued to search until she was sure she had explored every corner of the frighteningly erotic room. Flopping onto the bed, as far from the man as she could get, she sighed again. "My things aren't in here, are they?"

"Very observant, my pretty little water lily."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she demanded, turning her head to stare at him with icy eyes.

He leaned over and nipped at her neck, making her move away and growl at him. A dark chuckle escaped from his grinning lips and he withdrew slightly. "Ask me some other time. I'm more concerned with what those lovely folds of silk are hiding from me."

She stared at him and he suddenly registered the long scar under her left eye. How exotic, he thought. I don't typically approve of such a pretty face being marred like that, but it suits her somehow. He broadened his smile and leaned toward her again. "My my, could the little lily be warming up to me?" He dodged her fist and caught it, yanking her back into his lap where he was sure she belonged. "Like I said earlier, don't make me be creative with the things you throw at me."

"Filthy man," she hissed, her eyes flashing with anger and murder. "You're no different from any other dirty sop. I hope you rot in hell."

He frowned and released her, watching as she slid back to the other side of the bed, yet again. "So feisty, and so angry. Pray tell why you file me into the category of typical men."

"All you're interested in is sex, of course. A woman is just a toy an even if you have to take it from her you are determined to fulfill your fucked up cravings."

He moved quickly across the bed and seized her neck and jaw carefully with his large hand and made her look him in the eye. "I never take. All of my bed fellows have been willing to some extent or another, but never have I taken someone against their will." He sat up and looked down into her face sternly, his eyes tracing her scar again. "Do tell me, however, have you been touched against your will?"

She narrowed her eyes, her left cheek twitching. "Mind your own business."

He traced her jaw with one finger, exploring the gentle curve that melted into her neck. "So you have," he said quietly and sadly. His eyes hardened and he pulled his gun again, laying it against her shirt in the depression between her breasts. "Would you like me to kill him for you?"

"I would prefer to kill him myself," she said with quiet venom, "But no one could find him."

"I assure you, little water lily, I could find the fiend for you." He nuzzled the curve between her shoulder and her neck, grinning when a shudder went through her at the whispered hint of his teeth. "You want revenge?"

"He will get his due, one way or another."

"Well it's quite encouraging that such a thing did not knock the fire out of you." He teased the gun under her shirt, letting the cold of the metal shock the warm skin.

"Stop!" she demanded, though not before he detected a tremor in her voice and a shiver that ran up her spine. She glared at him, then pushed herself away again and looked him fearlessly in the eyes. "Give me my things now."

He silently applauded her courage and boldness as he stood and slipped into his white trousers and a loose black shirt. He left it unbuttoned and pulled his black and white jacket on over it before strapping his gun to his leg beneath the layer of coat. "Very well, since you so delightfully demanded it of me. Come on then, chop chop." He snatched up his cane and strode out of the room, barely waiting for the whisper of her feet following behind him.

There you are, Chapter Four is done and our two main characters are finally properly introduced... Reaver style! Haha, I love writing Reaver... anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and maybe if you enjoyed it more than it deserves you'll leave me a review... I'm always down for constructive criticism as well.

Spoiler: The next chapter is a lot of talk and a little slow, but it's necesarry for our female hero to figure out her place in Albion. Theresa also makes another appearance to inform the girl and the deviant of something neither of them like too much.


	5. Trying to Remember

Whew, longest chapter yet! Here is chapter five, in all of it's glory, or lack of therewith... yeup... I'm terrible at selling my stories, so I just hope you like it!

Warning: More language, some steamy interaction between Reaver and female character, a little angst and tobacco use. Oh, and a little suggested nudity, but I really just had to or I might have been shot. XD Reaver doesn't like stories where he gets blue balls...

Chapter Five: Trying to Remember

She stared at the irrepressible man walking in front of her and shook her head. She had never been one for cowering and whimpering and begging to know where she was and she wasn't about to start now. However she was very confused and trying to rack her brain to figure out a way to extract information from the difficult man in front of her. As she was wondering she suddenly was struck with the lack of memory on how she even ended up in this place. All she could remember was dragging herself out of a lake onto a dock and being haled off and scrubbed down in a hot bath. Before that there was little to nothing as to how she ended up in a lake to begin with. She frowned, trying hard to remember.

… _little runaway..._

She started as the low, soothing voice echoed through her mind. It was from a dream, she was sure of it, but like all of her dreams it was fuzzy and hard to remember.

"Oof!"

The man turned to steady her as she had smacked into his back while trying to recall the memory she was sure was a dream. "My, such inconsistency! Not a moment ago you were violently repulsing me, but now it seems like you may be quite literally throwing yourself at me." He cupped her chin in his hand and frowned at her bleary, distant eyes. "Whatever might be on your mind, little water lily? Other than me, of course."

She blinked several times before being able to register his face, then dove into the topic on her mind. "Do you know an old woman with a soft and soothing and kinda powerful voice? She might be able to do some sort of, I don't know, magic or something, too but I'm not sure."

It was his turn to blink at her in surprise. It sounded like the girl had described that blind hag of a seer, Theresa, but how could the watery little waif know of her? He stood at his full height and peered down at her hard face. "Perhaps. Why do you ask, m'pet?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know, I think I had a dream about her or something. I remember her telling me that my 'destiny' or whatever lay elsewhere, but it's kind of... sketchy. I can't recall anything for sure."

The man leaned against his cane and stared at the girl. As far as he knew, Theresa didn't waste her time with average people with normal lives and under-exceptional abilities. The old hag seemed to be constantly berating or prodding at anyone who had even a drop of hero blood, at least from what he knew. He had even been called in for a personal meeting with King Logan to discuss the blind old dodger, and he had no doubt that the king's younger sister had received a visit from the seer as well. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, trying to remember the last time he had seen the seer. It was shortly after the death of the old queen, his old mate Sparrow, that the hag had appeared to himself, Garth and that ogre of a woman, Hammer.

The master of the house didn't bother himself any further with the memory and brought himself back to the present where he found himself peering down at the girl who was gawking at the grandeur of the room with something close to amazement.

"Like anything you see?" he drawled absentmindedly, his mind's eye still plagued by thoughts of the late hero queen and the blind seer. "I myself am rather fond of the bed- ouch!" With a smarting shin and a rising temper he pulled his gun and pointed it meaningfully at the violent girl. "Merely a joke, my pet, though I am growing tired of your abuse. I am asking you politely to desist."

She stared down the barrel of the pistol unflinchingly. "You don't scare me."

He cocked the hammer with a chuckle. "A fact that continues to amuse me, my little water lily. Shall I give you a reason to be afraid, or should I just kill you and be done with it?"

It was her turn to grin at him, and she wrapped her small white hand around the barrel of the gun and pressed it beneath her chin. "That is entirely up to you, my good sir."

He stared at her, the coy grin not betraying his surprise. Surely this was a woman with no fear. He stepped forward and pushed the gun up to her chin, teasing her lower lip with the end of the barrel. "Would you care so much if I did?" For a moment he thought her eyes widening was a betrayal of fear, but the spark that came to her eyes was not that.

"What did you say?"

"Just now or-"

"Goddammit, just now when I asked you if you were going to kill me!"

"Would you care so much if I did?"

She smiled, her scar dimpling adorably. "The old woman said the exact same thing! Then the lake started to bubble and I jumped in like she told me to..."

"Where were you coming from?" the man asked, a small frown creasing his brow.

"Los Angeles, where I was raised. The old woman told me I had no reason to stay there, and somehow I ended up here."

The man leaned on his cane, watching the girl as she pondered the events that had supposedly brought her here. He sighed and straightened a bit, putting his pistol back into it's holster. "Never have I heard of a place called 'laws ahn-jellies.' Where exactly is it in accordance to the world?"

She blinked, obviously surprised at his ignorance. "Um, it's in California, on the west coast of the United States... um... it's above Mexico..."

"Darling, either you are completely off your rocker, or you are making these places up because in all my travels over all the world, I've never heard of a place by the name of any of those mentioned."

"But..." she frowned. "Then where am I?"

"A glorious land called Albion in the delightful region of Millfields." He leaned in close to her and grinned like a tiger. "And let me guess, you've never heard of such a place."

She smiled and shrugged. "You caught me."

"Indeed I have." He straightened thoughtfully and looked around the room before retrieving the bundle from the sink. "I do believe these are yours."

She smiled broadly and took the stuffed t-shirt from him, then turned and unceremoniously dumped the contents onto the bed. She ignored the protestant "tut" that the tall man behind her let out, just rolling her eyes. She glared at him, then winked teasingly. "Don't worry, nothing is wet and nothing will soil your precious bed in any way." She pulled open one of the several water-proof bags she had stored her things in, pulling out one of her life's greatest loves; cigarettes. She popped one in her mouth, lit it with a black lighter and took a long drag off of it, sighing happily and sitting down on the bed. "Ahhh, that's the stuff."

The man raised an eyebrow at the smoking object she was consuming in his room. True, he enjoyed the occasional cigar in front of the fireplace, but those were aromatic and the thing she was smoking reeked to high heavens. He walked over and plucked the thing from her fingers and, ignoring her obscene commentary, took a drag off of the thing.

She laughed when he began coughing and snatched her cigarette back. "Too much for you?"

He glared and wiped his eyes gingerly. "I would very much prefer you to smoke that by the fireplace if you insist on polluting yourself with such filth." Rolling his eyes at her grumbling he began sifting through her belongings scattered across his bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm rifling through your things, obviously." He chuckled and used a finger to hook a red, lacy pair of panties. "How positively scandalous. I would love to have you model this for me."

She only blew an unamused smoke ring and chose to ignore him.

He chuckled and stuffed the tantalizing undergarments into a pocket, continuing through her things. He came across a small picture, the likeness captured with absolute perfection. "I should hire this painter for myself," he mused quietly, staring at the picture. It contained a younger version of the girl next to his fireplace, smiling and scar-free. Next to her was a devilishly handsome young man, his arm around her and smiling broadly. A gloved hand hovered against the boy's perfectly captured foot, the man glaring at the boy's uniform. _Where have I seem this tasteless style before? It doesn't look like the uniforms for King Logan's soldiers. Hmmm..._

"What are you looking at?" The girl put her hand on his shoulder and peeked over to see what he was holding. He would have commented on the less-than-violent gesture if she hadn't so suddenly reacted. Her face twisted into a furious scowl and her eyes flashed in accordance with the grating of her furious voice. "Don't ever touch that," snatching the picture away. "Don't ever touch this, ever, or I swear to God I will kill you in the most obscene way possible!" She stuffed the picture back into the bag it had come out of and grabbed some clothes, making to get dressed and ignore the audacious man who seemed to get a kick out of infuriating her.

For the third time since she had awoken in the house, the man was pointing his gun at her. She turned and wrapped her hand around the barrel again, pulling it into her until it was pressed into the flesh covering her heart. "Are you actually going to kill me or just keep poking me with this thing?"

He winked at her roguishly. "I was just going to inquire as to why that picture is worth risking your life over?"

She smiled and ran a finger along the length of the barrel, unaware of the provocative gesture it was. Her eyes flashed back up in time to catch the man licking his lips and staring at her chest. She laughed and pushed the gun away. "Mind your own business, dirty old man."

He smirked and waited until she had concealed herself behind a changing screen and listened until her heard the soft swish of silk hitting the floor. Then, with a flourish of his cane, he knocked the screen over, being momentarily exposed to her delicious white skin in all of it's glory. He chuckled and ducked as an empty chamber pot was hurled at his head. It was surprising, he noticed, than instead of letting out a scream or a shriek or a half-pleased cry, she simply growled deep in her throat and flung both heavy objects and obscenities at him.

"Now now, m'dear, try not to hurt me. I'm afraid I literally could not control myself." He raised an eyebrow when she turned away and noticed that she had dimples in her lower back. _How very delicious..._ he thought, imagining running his tongue through the little depressions. He chuckled and caught a hand mirror that was also thrown at him, setting it down gently. "Careful, my lovely water lily, we wouldn't want to break anything that can't be repaired."

She finished pulling a short-sleeved turtleneck on, throwing the red silk pajamas on top of the fallen screen. She looked at herself in a mirror, smoothing down her hair so it was less frizzy. She was wearing thin, tight black skinny-jeans that hugged her ass perfectly and the black turtleneck that stretched snugly over her chest and hips, but was just a little bit too short and exposed the very bottom of the curve of her belly. She pulled the shirt down, momentarily hiding the soft white skin that was so tantalizingly exposed. She then turned to meet the lust-filled stare of the man watching her and scowled at him. "What do you want, you dirty old man?"

Three swift movements and he had her pinned to the wall, her wrists pinned by one of his hands and her body being lifted off of the ground by his thigh pressing up between her legs. He smiled like the deviant he was before leaning next to her ear and saying, "now now, enough with the old man bit. I do have a name that I prefer you'd use."

She glared at him, feeling far too trapped and exposed. "What would your fucking name be then?" she practically spat at him.

"Reaver," he purred, nuzzling against her neck affectionately. "Or you could take after the maids and simply call me master."

"In your farthest, most unlikely and wildest dreams you disgusting perv."

Reaver jerked the knee supporting her sharply, savoring the gasp she let out. "I would quit with the insults, my little water lily, lest I decide to bruise your petal-like skin." He grinned irrepressibly into her unamused face, once again amazed with the amount of self-control and courage she exhibited. He shook his head reprovingly at her and went to nuzzle her left breast.

"Stoppit," she hissed, audibly grinding her teeth as she wrenched at her captured hands.

He nipped through the shirt at her collarbone, enjoying the way her muscles twitched and her heart rate increased in response. "Why should I when we are both so obviously enjoying ourselves?" He chuckled at the low growl that reverberated in her throat. "What is this, you feisty little mix, denying yourself of what you want." He licked at her neck, sending another shudder through her. "Your body at least seems a bit more decisive."

"Put me down you disgusting, sex-obsessed, mud-licking freak!"

"What did I tell you about the name calling, deary? I shall put you down if you simply call out my name rather than insults." He sucked teasingly at her jaw and neck. "I'm waiting."

She tossed her head away from his actively talented mouth and stared hard at him. After a moment she sighed and in a small, sweetened voice said, "would you please put me down Mr. Reaver, sir?"

He smiled triumphantly and released her, catching her to gently place her feet back on the ground. "Now, see? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She scampered to the bed and lit another cigarette, taking it over to the fireplace to rid herself of the ashes. Her eyes fixed on the black pit where many fires had burned and tried once again to remember how she had arrived in this place. _He said it's called Albion, right? Did the old lady say anything about a place by that name?_ She racked her brain for a few minutes before deciding that, no, the woman had never mentioned where she was going to be sent. The girl took another drag and closed her eyes, trying hard to remember, but all that came to mind was being called a runaway with no reason to remain in her... her eyes flew open. _No reason to remain in __my world__! So she must have sent me to another world- but isn't that impossible?_

"Whatever could be on your mind, my pet?" Reaver suddenly purred into her ear. He took a step back, half expecting to be hit again, but instead his gaze was met with a rather earnest expression.

"Do you," she stopped and took a quick drag off her cigarette. "Um, do you think it's possible to travel, like, between worlds? Do you even think that other worlds exist?"

_How very blunt,_ he thought with a quizzical smile. _She always goes straight to the point, doesn't beat around the bush. An intriguing characteristic for a woman._ "It is indeed a possibility, but one I have not looked into, I regret to say."

The girl nodded and blew three smoke rings toward the ceiling, her eyes distant.

"Why do you ask, if I may inquire?"

She looked at him and shrugged. "I was thinking about what the old woman told me, and I sounds like your Albion is on a different world than my Los Angeles." She smiled and Reaver was thoroughly amused by the slight look of embarrassment on her face.

_My, what I wouldn't do to get a blush on that stony face,_ he thought to himself, leaning comfortably on his cane and grinning like a cat.

"What?" the girl demanded, glaring through her smoke.

"Just pondering some possibilities, my ravishing little lily." He tapped his cane on the ground. "But back to your proposal, I do not doubt the idea that you could have been brought here from another world. It's certainly not beyond my imagination, which is most expansive."

She stared at him, then sighed again. "I guess I won't know until I find that woman and talk to her. And another thing, why was I sent here? For some sort of new beginning or am I supposed to do something here?"

Both of them stiffened when the room fell into a gray mist and the powerful voice surged into their ears. "Do not be afraid, I brought you here, to Albion, for a reason."

Reaver clicked his tongue in obvious irritation. "I thought it was you who was behind this, Theresa. Aren't you supposed to be busy governing that ratty old spire of yours, or has someone thrown a stick into your cogs, so to speak?"

The woman materialized and turned blank, milky eyes toward the man. "Be careful, Reaver. You may be ageless, but you are not indestructible, and you will need this little runaway's help before her journey is over."

"Huh," Reaver scoffed. "Me? Needing the help of that waterlogged slip of a girl?"

Said girl scowled at him, but took a step toward the mysterious woman. "Wait, what are you talking about? What am I supposed to do?"

The old woman turned and nodded at the young woman. "You will need to train to become a hero. You-"

"A hero?" Reaver scoffed, tapping his cane on the tile floor. "How do you figure this little waif could possibly have hero blood?"

The girl growled at him, but the old lady cut her off. "Hush, young one. As much as you may protest, Reaver here is going to be your teacher."

"Wha-"

"Don't worry, I will teach you everything he cannot, but I assure you, Reaver is a most capable teacher."

"And I suppose I have no say in this matter," Reaver cut in irately.

Theresa turned to him. "You can refuse, if you wish, but in effect you might find the shadow court a bit more taciturn and less generous than they usually are. Or maybe they will even decide to call off the deal entirely." She smiled craftily. "But if you are willing and compliant, then I assume your next trip to the Wraithmarsh will go as smoothly as always."

Reaver blanched and scowled at her. "Fine, you old hag. What do I need to teach the little brat?"

"You will need to teach her skill with the sword and the gun. I will teach her how to use magic."

"Magic?" The girl's eyes shone excitedly. "I can do magic?"

The old woman smiled and nodded at her. "You are indeed capable, but before you realize your potential you must retrieve a very important object."

"Let me guess," Reaver sneered angrily. "The guild seal?"

"It seems as though master Reaver here knows exactly what you must do, so trust him as your guide." The woman smiled almost sympathetically at the young girl. "Do not worry, young runaway. I will guide you when you need me the most. Find the guild seal, and I will direct you from there."

"Wait," the girl cried as the woman began to shimmer away. "I have so many questions! Wait, don't leave me alone with-"

The woman disappeared and the fog lifted from the room, leaving the frazzled girl alone with the infuriated deviant.

"Bloody brilliant," Reaver muttered, tucking his cane under his arm. "I need a bloody drink." He glanced at the girl and grinned. "Care to join me?"

She sighed and moved to grab another cigarette. "I suppose, but are you going to actually help me like the old lady said, or intoxicate and rape me?"

He chuckled and slid a hand around her waist. "Sweetheart, I don't have a choice but to help you. As to you getting intoxicated, that is up to you, same goes for the sex as well." He reached out and plucked the cigarette from her mouth, laughed at her indignant noises and then swept her out of the room, intent on getting something hard to drink.

I would hope that some of you would be like, "wow, look, a plot-line!" But I'm not gonna get my hopes up, mostly because of my own terrible plot-twisting scenarios. Kind of dug my own grave there. Anyhoo, I hope you liked it and I hope you know that I love all my readers!

Spoiler: There is yet again a lot of conversation in Chapter Six, but there is one thing for those of you who have been paying attention. My female protagonist finally gets a name! Yay! Now on to chapter six...

Reaver: Oh good, I was looking forward to the little waif getting a name of some sort. I don't know if you thought you were being mysterious by not telling us her name, but it was nothing short of annoying.

Me: Just for that you have to play a name guessing-game with her.

Reaver: That sounds tedious.

Me: Muahaha, deal with it!

Reaver: Excuse me? What was that you just said to me?

Me: Uh, I mean, it will be fun!

Reaver: Mmhmm...

Me: **mutter mutter**


	6. Maybe Too Much Wine

Here is chapter six, and like I promised it's going to be a lot of conversation that mostly just furthers the relationship between female hero and Reaver. It's also helpful to get more of a grasp on their personalities. Also, female protagonist will finally get a name, like I said she would.

Warning: Language, again, sexual scenes (Reaver actually almost rapes her, it's awesome), and alcohol use. Have fun!

Chapter Six: Maybe too Much Wine

"Hahahaha, you must be joking!"

"I assure you, this woman was the size of a troll, with a temper to match." Reaver laughed and took another sip of wine, watching the tipsy girl giggle in the chair across from him.

"Heeheehee, she must have been, like, a beast! Why were you forced to travel with her?"

"Oh, this absurd quest to stop some grimy bloke from eliminating the world as we know it." He chuckled and smiled into space, remembering the adventure. "It was accomplished entirely due to my help, of course, though I suppose my companions were of some use. Especially that delightful little firecracker of a hero, Sparrow." He smiled as he recalled the old queen and shook his head.

"Wait," the girl leaned forward, teetering perilously on the edge of her chair. "Does that mean that... are you a hero, Reaver?"

He smiled when she said his name and took a coy sip of wine, arching his brows at her mischievously. "What do you think, my pretty little water lily?"

She scowled playfully at him. "Of course I'm gonna think you're a hero! You just told me several stories about how you and a bunch of mother-fucking heroes taking down some cock-sucking tyrant and you were one of them! What I want to know is, what was the thing you are good at?"

He chuckled, "well I'm not too bad in bed..."

"Shuttit! You know what I mean! Garth was an extremely talented magician, Hammer was incredibly strong, what are you good at?" She blinked in surprise as the man whipped out his gun and shot the flame off of a nearby candle. "Oh..."

He laughed and stowed his weapon. "Need I say anything more?"

"Only one word." The girl's eyes were clear and hard, her pale and scarred face deadly serious. "Will you promise that you will teach me to be a hero, like that girl, Sparrow, in your stories?"

Reaver gazed at her, trying to see what lay beneath the hard stare the girl was fixing on him. The only thing he could detect was a deadly earnestness and a subdued warriors spirit flashing behind her eyes. He grinned and took another slow drink, dramatically lowering the cup and swallowing before leaning forward and quietly saying, "yes."

"Excellent," she declared, standing up quickly. "Well then, let's go find that guild- uh- whoo..." She staggered, the wine suddenly rushing to her head and causing her to lose her footing.

"Easy there," Reaver chuckled when she tottered toward the wall, reaching out and catching her before she collapsed. "Come here, and I will keep you from hurting yourself, m'dear." He pulled her into his lap, laughing as she struck out at him blindly, the wine distorting her depth perception. "I believe we've talked about the violence, m'dear. Be a good little water lily and desist at once."

She stopped and turned, completely straddling his lap and gripping the armrests for support. "W-why do you keep calling me that, Reaver?"

He smiled at her, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. "I believe I said I would tell you when I wanted to."

"But you do want to!" she exclaimed, staring at him intensely. "I can tell, you totally want to tell me."

He wrinkled his nose at her. "What else can you tell me that I want?"

She giggled and accidentally ground against him, making him inhale sharply. "Well I think we are both aware that you want that, but I wasn't sure that you knew you wanted to tell me why you call me water lily."

He smirked at her, containing his lust and full well knowing she was teasing him accidentally. "Well what would you prefer me to call you, m'pet?"

"M'name, maybe," the intoxicated girl said, trying to suppress a fit of hiccups.

He placed a gloved finger over her lips, teasing the giggling mouth. "Unfortunately I don't know your name, m'sweet."

She nipped at the finger and pushed herself back, making the man beneath her wince as she ground against him again. "Guess it!"

"What?" he said huskily, gripping her hips tightly. If the bloody little minx didn't stop squirming...

"Guess my name!"

He blinked at her, then smiled through his lusty haze. "Alright then. Could your name be... Margaret?"

"Ew, no!"

"Brianna?"

"Nope."

"Lucinda?"

"Not even close!"

He sighed and held her firmly as he sensed her beginning to squirm again. "Unless you just tell me your name, I'm going to be forced to call you Lily."

She grinned strangely and tilted her head to one side. "I've actually always liked that name. You can call me that, but only Lily. None of this water lily stuff. If anything that can be like a code name or something like that." She giggled and shifted slightly, not noticing the way the man beneath her closed his eyes in exasperation. "I mean, I'm in a new world starting a new life, I guess I'd need a new name too." She peeked into the man's face and smiled when he cracked an eye open toward her. "Thank you, Reaver."

His eyes opened wide when she leaned forward and suddenly kissed the tip of his nose. _So... fucking... adorable..._ he thought, his sexual temper black-lining. A dark, deviant grin creased his face from ear-to-ear as he suddenly reached up and seized the hair on the back of her head, pulling it back sharply and attacking her neck with his talented mouth.

She stifled a gasp and tried to jerk away, but both of his arms circled her body, locking her against him. She squirmed, keeping her mouth stubbornly shut, then suddenly realized what her movements had done as she rubbed against his growing excitement. "Reaver!" she hissed, struggling as effectively as she could without moving her hips too much. "Stop- stoppit!"

He simply purred a dark chuckle into her neck and continued to ravish the sensitive skin, nipping his way up to her ear where he sucked gently. The hand attached to the arm around her waist carefully lifted up the edge of her tight-fitting shirt and began tracing her hips while working his way up her shirt.

"Reaver!" she demanded as sternly and angrily as possible. "Get off of me now!"

"You'll forgive me, but," he licked playfully at her cheekbone, "you're the one who is atop me, my pretty Lily."

She half-laughed, half-growled at him, then said, "then get out from under me, you horny excuse for a hero!"

He felt her twitch when he raised his head and met her gaze with his predatory eyes and smirked. "Shall I show you just how much of a hero I truly am?" He pulled his gun off his leg with an expert twist of his free hand and teased it against her inner thigh, letting it slide slowly up...

She gasped audibly as he jerked it suddenly and slid it under her hips that were still teasing him, laughing at the furious look on her face. _Not even a flush of pink_, he thought irately, yanking her closer and twitching the gun teasingly. _You would think the little thing was made of stone..._ He captured the jaw next to her chin with his mouth and began sucking and nipping at it, occasionally reaching up to lick her cheek.

"S-st-stop," she growled, completely frozen against him.

He ran his tongue through the depression underneath her chin, pulling her hips against his and withdrawing his gun so his nimble fingers could explore the waistline of her jeans. They were slightly stretchy so he jammed his gun securely into the side and began exploring the button and zipper with two fingers.

"NO!" Lily shouted, bringing her fist up as hard as she could.

Reaver looked up at her face in time to see the slightest shred of fear completely smothered with rage, then her fist connected with his jaw. He barely noticed how fast she leapt off his lap when he released her to hold his mouth and suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of his own gun. He sighed wearily, the raging lust suddenly draining away as he looked up at her face. A tiny shred of it returned when he saw her pants unbuttoned and the tiniest hint of pink on her cheeks. _I do hope that is from sheer ecstasy caused by yours truly, because that was one of the most expert seductions I've ever performed._ He sighed, wiping blood from his lips and placed a finger on the side of his gun. There was a tiny click and five bullets came tumbling out of the handle.

"Wha-"

He waved a hand to cut her off. "A little mechanism built in for precisely these kinds of situations. For future reference, if you ever take someone's gun away to shoot them with it, either shoot them right away or stay out of arm's length." He stood and took his gun back with a savage twist of her wrist, making her hiss in pain. He grinned wickedly and holstered the pistol, still holding her wrist painfully in place. "And also as a future reference, never strike me in the face, ever."

She swallowed hard and looked him in the eye, her face showing no fear. "I'm not sorry. You were taking advantage of me."

He chuckled and let her wrist slide into a more comfortable position in his hand. "Indeed I was, and enjoying every moment of it. For the record," he brought his face close to hers, "you started it, with those talented little hips of yours."

She scowled at him and yanked her hand away, rubbing it gingerly. "I didn't mean to."

"Alright then." He stood up to his full length, stretched, then rubbed his jaw gingerly. "I daresay, I do believe in your being a hero now, with a punch like that. Bravo, my dear."

She allowed herself a little smile and grabbed her cup, the clarity she had had for those few, frightening moments fading rapidly as her drunkenness seeped back into her. "How dare you doubt my capability to be a hero in the first place! In fact, let's go find that guild seal!"

Reaver shook his head at her, fully amused once again. "You are in absolutely no condition to be adventuring or hero-ing anywhere. I suggest you sit down, let me refill your goblet and tell you another story. Then I will have a lovely bath drawn up for you and order a tailor so as to fit you into some new clothes-"

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing at all, I think they are most attractive, but they are not exactly the most fashionable threads in all of Albion. Besides, you are my new pet and I do enjoy playing dress-up with my toys- tut tut now, dear, don't fuss." He wagged a finger and quickly quieted her outraged protestations. "If I must teach you then I'm afraid you will have to suffer my teasing or learn how to rebuttal against them. Or you could simply learn how to charm me into a lovely, seduced silence that leaves us both breathless and broken."

She just raised an eyebrow at him, then collapsed into a chair and held out her empty goblet.

Reaver chuckled and refilled it, watching her as she glared at him over the rim of the decorative vessel. "Heh-hm, as I was saying, you will be fitted for some new clothes, then we can sit down to a lovely dinner and discuss the day like an old couple." He laughed and took a sip of his own drink. "I do say, already I am rather fond of having you here as my ward."

"As your what?"

"My ward. My young and beautiful charge with which I must create a charming, daring, and heroic woman, the likes of which no person in this world has seen for a hundred years."

She smiled over the rim of her goblet, her scar crinkling under her left eye. "Hm, I like the sound of that. I'm gonna be an ass-kicking ward, fuck yeah!"

Reaver grimaced. "Honestly, young one, we must work on that language of yours. I have no problem with swearing in particular, but it should be utilized properly, like a gentleman throwing down a white glove. They way you flavor your language is akin to a troll chucking a boulder." He grinned and sipped his drink. "... to put it bluntly, I suppose."

She huffed and buried her nose in the goblet, sipping generously on her wine. "There'sh nothin' wrong with the way that I talk..." she muttered darkly.

"Not in essence, no, but it is quality that you lack. I'm not sure if you fully grasp the gravity of being a hero, little Lily." Reaver grinned like a cat, leaning forward to meet her eyes. "You become an icon of sorts, and whether you choose to be selfless and pure, or a-moral and corrupt, common people will idolize you and see you as an aloof character, the stuff of gods, if you will." He grinned as he contemplated his own god-like status in the world, then raised his chalice toward the girl slightly. "Some are obviously more god-like than other, of course, but it's all about exploitation of power."

The girl looked up. "But should the power we have be exploited or utilized for the greater good in order to maintain a proper moral balance?"

Reaver nodded in approval. "Either balanced or taken to the furthest extremity to which you can go. Like most moral dilemmas, heroes typically face a choice: good or evil? There have been very few who decide to balance themselves between either extreme. One typically falls prey to one or the other."

"And which did you fall prey to, Reaver dearest?" The girl smirked at the older man, unaware of how enticingly she had just presented herself to him.

He gulped his wine and grinned at her, the warm drink sitting in his stomach and running comfortably through his blood. "My dear, my answer is going to be biased based on my own interpretation of myself, so I find that question rather unfair."

She leaned back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well then, what does the general public think of you? What do your friends and family think of your moral outlook on life?"

"First of all," he scoffed, "I happen to be in a position where I have no family what-so-ever, and happily so. Second of all, in relation to the general public, who gives two rusty bits what those dullards and peasants assume I to be. As far as I am concerned, their opinion matters even less than my own, as it should be."

The young girl leaned back, eyes half-shut behind her goblet. "Mmm... whatever then. Keep your opinions, I don't care that much." She nursed her drink for a few silent moments, then set down her empty cup, lit a cigarette and looked at the older man expectantly.

He wrinkled his nose at the smoldering thing in her hand and asked irritably, "might I be able to assist you with something?"

She smiled. "Well we could kick off the rest of the day with you telling me another story, like you said you would."

He leaned back and ran a hand through his raven-black hair, looking wistfully at the tendril of smoke snaking from her cigarette. "Well now, have I told you about the time when I and my pirate crew were nearly destroyed by the fearsome sea creature called kraken...?"

A little drinking, a little smoking, and a little figuring out how to be a hero. I thought it was a good chapter. I do apologize for how slow it is, though. The next one will be much better.

Spoiler: In all honesty, the next chapter is purely for my own entertainment. It's very short, but I like it. All I'm going to say about it is, dress up time!


	7. Dress Up With Reaver

Chapter Seven, my cute short little chapter, is up! This chapter is an early lead-up to the masquerade ball that Reaver will soon throw for his "secret society" party. Plus I like to play dress-up with my toys as much as Reaver does. XD

Warning: Lots of language... angry language... and a little bit of Reaver teasing Lily.

Chapter Seven: Dress Up With Reaver

"H-haghhh!" she gasped when the corset was yanked tightly into place around her tiny and still shrinking waist. "Fucking shit! Cunt-licking, douche-bag, ass-hole! Rot in the deepest fucking pits of hell when I avenge my death on your reeking corpse!" She was cut off by another yank on the corset, snarled savagely and dug her fingers into the plush red chair she was hanging on to. She gritted her teeth as the tailor locked the torture contraption more tightly into place around her waist. She panted slightly and pushed some of her black hair out of her eyes. Damn that arrogant Reaver, taking advantage of her drunkenness and tricking her into thinking "dress-up" would be "fun."

"How is my little Lily coming along?" Reaver peeked around the screen, his detestable cheshire smile wreathing his face sarcastically.

"Fuck off you pervy old man!"

He chuckled and poked her in the side with his cane. "Tsk tsk, language, deary. How about your opinion, my good man?"

The tailor gulped when the cane was pushed into his lower back, forced a smile and finished lacing the corset. "It's coming along nicely, lord Reaver. She's so slight that she fits smoothly into all the smaller garments I brought. I may have to make some adjustments before she can fit some of the more elaborate costumes snugly."

Reaver grinned and withdrew the prodding object. "Very good. Now there is a specific outfit I need prepared for a little party I am throwing tomorrow night."

"Er, what kind of party, lord Reaver?"

The girl managed enough breath to scoff at the title the tailor used. "Hah, lord my ass... gods, I hate this thing..."

Reaver winked at the younger man, then strode over to the gasping girl and placed a hand on the nape of her neck. "A masquerade party, actually, and my pretty Lily is going to be my guest of honor." He leaned forward and planted his lips right above his hand on the slender white neck, savoring the way a shiver ran down her spine at the feel of his mouth.

The tailor watched silently as the girl growled and moved to punch him. Reaver simply laughed and caught her wrist, nipping at the soft skin in the crook of her arm. "Ha-hem," the young man cleared his throat nervously. "Excuse me for interrupting, but do you have any specifications for the gown and mask?"

"Red," Reaver purred. "Red and black and white, with water lilies on the hem and mask." He turned his gaze toward the man, holding the small black-haired girl in the curve of one of his long arms. "And it must be perfect for her. Make it exemplify her in every way or it will be you I serve as the main dish tomorrow night." He released the struggling girl, laughed, and strode smoothly out of the room, swinging his cane jauntily.

"Detestable man," Lily hissed, putting a hand on her grievously compressed stomach.

"I must say," the tailor said, pulling a large white skirt out of his chest, "lord Reaver certainly seems to have taken a liking to you. Strange, because he rarely shows favor to any one person at a time. Knowing him, he usually associates with large groups rather than a single man or woman. How is he alone? I've never met anyone who has had him to themselves."

Lily let herself feel a small surge of astonishment and disgust at the man's babbling._ I really shouldn't be that surprised_, she thought, _but... woah... and ewww... good gods, what have I gotten myself into? I should have left when I had the chance, or swam to the other side of the lake in the first place._

"Lovely!" the tailor exclaimed suddenly, having fitted her with the large, white, layered skirt. "A little tweaking and a splash of color, and it might as well have been made for you!"

Lily sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. It actually didn't look that bad. In fact... she smoothed the edges slightly, and turned to look at the back of it. With a little smile that dimpled her scar adorably, she looked over her shoulder at the tailor. "It's very pretty." _… and holy fuck, look what this horrible thing does to my boobs!_

"It's only so pretty because you are wearing it," the young man said, happily pulling out a matching top. "Now slip into this and I think I have a pair of shoes that you will love!"

That was very short chapter... ugh... I'm sorry. I promise the next one will be longer.

Spoiler: The next chapter doesn't really have a lot of Reaver and Lily. Instead it features the hired help in Reaver's mansion and there will be Barry!

Barry: Finawly... I get a wittle attention in dis stupid storwy...

Me: Hush you adorable red-head!

Barry: **mutter mutter**

Reaver: Keep your filthy hands off my sweet red-headed servant! **Bang**

Me: Eeek! Okay, okay!


	8. Don't Rape The Hired Help

Chapter Eight, everybody, and it's a long one to make up for the last chapter! I hope you like it because I think it's exciting. Like I said before you see very little Reaver and almost no Lily in this chapter, but I thought the diversion was well-needed.

Warning: Careful, there is servant cuteness in this chapter! Blargh! Anyhoo, there is also cursing, as usual, use of aphrodisiacs and a scene with man-on-man action between a cute servant and our favorite red-head, Barry Hatch! 3 If you don't like man-on-man action, I suggest you just skip over that part or just don't read this chapter, though if you don't the next chapter might be confusing.

Chapter Eight: Don't Rape the Hired Help

Lucy scurried around the kitchen making sure everything was being prepared properly and on time for dinner. "Keep an eye on that pudding, we don't want it to boil dry! Please don't use sweet wine for that, use a nice dry one. Oh, that lamb is coming along very nicely! Make sure to keep an eye on it though. Has anyone seen my big tea pot? I was sure I had it not ten minutes ago!"

A dark-haired boy tapped her on the shoulder. "Here, Lucy. I was washing it out for you."

"Thank you, Charles," Lucy said, fully out of breath. "Whoo... dinner time can be so exhausting!"

The boy smiled sympathetically. "Yes, it certainly can be. You just relax a bit and start making your tea. That's your job, remember? We can take care of finishing dinner."

Lucy nodded gratefully and left the center of the kitchen to go fill the teapot with fresh water. On the way she spotted an exotic-looking basket filled with bright, plump fruits of different shapes and sizes. "Charles!"

The boy rushed to her sharply. "You need something?"

Lucy picked up the basket. "We should do something with these. They've been sitting there since master Reaver brought those strange sand people home with him and I want them to be eaten before they go bad. Maybe serve them with a little sugar or something for desert."

Charles picked up a purple fruit with dull black spikes, cut a tiny piece out of it and marveled at the blood-red juice that ran heavily from it. He sampled a drop and his eyes lit up. "Lucy, this is delicious! It's sweet and mild with a subtle tang... you should mix this with that white tea master Reaver likes, rather than any alcohol. If you ask me, he and that girl have had enough today."

Lucy smiled and took the bleeding fruit. "Good idea! I will! Thank you, Charles." She smiled sweetly and began mixing the tea and fruit with practiced ease.

Charles smiled and walked away, glancing back over his shoulder at the pretty young kitchen maid. "Hey Joe, can you get some sugar and grind it into a fine powder for this fruit? Feel free to throw anything else in to make it taste better. They will be served at desert."

The older man he had addressed took the fruit and winked at him. "Still got your eye on Lucy?" You should make a move already!"

Charles shook his head. "Mind your own business and keep your eyes on that damn pudding."

"Good evening, my minions!" Reaver burst into the kitchen, smiling broadly at his busy servants. He strode over to the two boys and looked at them amusedly. "Hello Charles, looking fiery and flushed as usual. Joe, for heavens sake, watch that pudding! I would simply hate it if you were to let it boil dry." He frowned and plucked the basket of fruit out of Charles' hands. "Tisk tisk, who told you to use these? They are meant for a very special occasion."

Charles bowed his head. "Forgive me, it's my fault, master Reaver. I didn't want them to spoil."

Reaver waved an absent hand at him, rummaging through the fruit. "Yes, yes, simply ask next time. And by the way, have you taken a fruit from this basket yet?"

Charles flushed nervously. "Y-yes master. A purple and black one. I told Lucy to put it in the tea-"

Reaver raised an eyebrow. "Did you now? And did either you or sweet Lucy eat any of said fruit?"

"I had a taste, master Reaver."

"Then I suggest you invite Lucy home with you tonight as soon as she is finished making that tea, and don't dilly-dally." Reaver chuckled and placed the fruit within a nearby cupboard. "Oh and make sure Lucy samples that tea before she leaves. Make sure it tastes good and all that." The tall, dark man laughed, throwing his head back in full enjoyment.

"What's so funny, master Reaver?" Joe asked, a worried line creasing his forehead.

"If you really want to know, my dear, you had better ask Barry. I find this all just too funny!" He turned to leave, then looked back. "Whoever is serving tonight, make sure my lady guest gets an extra large serving of tea. In fact," he snorted laughter, "just give her the whole pot!" He swung his cane onto his shoulder, accidentally whacking Charles smartly on the back of the head as he sauntered out of the kitchen.

Joe grimaced at Charles. "I hate to say it, but you may want to find Barry to ask him about that fruit."

Charles sighed. "But that clod is so filthy..."

Joe shook his head and pulled his pudding off of the fire. "I think it's for the best. If you need more inclination, then do it for Lucy."

The dark-haired boy sighed and nodded. "Alright then." He left and quickly began scurrying through the mansion, trying to find Barry.

To no great surprise he found him cleaning Reaver's already-spotless bedroom. "Oi, Barry?"

The young ginger turned and smiled at the boy. "Well 'ello there, Chawles darwing." He set down his dust rag and fully faced the boy. "'Ow can owld Bawwy 'elp ye today?"

Charles grimaced. "There's this purple and black fruit we were cooking with and I was told to ask you..."

"Hush! That's all yew need to tewll me." Barry smiled and licked his lips. "Yew came to the wight person, but the infowmation is gonna cost ye!"

Charles frowned. "Cost me what?" He let out a startled cry when Barry leapt at him, pinning him to the floor. "Barry! Get off of me- ugh!"

Barry laughed as he rubbed himself against the boy. "Sowwy Chawles, but Bawwy has been feewling a wittle wonely wately, and this fwoot is best deswibed through action, not words." The ginger leaned down and licked the boy's chin. "Mmm, yew smewll wike sweet things and cooking smoke."

"B-Barry!" Charles gasped, pushing as well as he could in defense. "Get off! How could you- uhn!" The dark-haired boy flushed in shame as he realized Barry's maneuvers were working. "Barry, please stop. Please- ah-ahhh!"

The ginger chuckled and nipped the boy's eyebrow. "Y'see, Chawles m'wuv, that fwoot yew ate is a powerful aphwodisiac that mastah Weavah and I found on an adventure." He began sliding a hand up the ruffled shirt, nipping hard at the bridge of the boy's nose.

"A-an aphrodisiac- ack!" Charles took a deep breath, trying to control himself. His heart was beating fast and a hot sticky sweat had broken out onto his skin. He twisted his head away from Barry's clumsy mouth, still trying to squirm away. In his panic he lifted his hips and ground hard against his attacker.

Barry gasped in delight, his eyes glinting. "Oooh, young mistah Chawles, contwoll yersewlf." With that he brought his mouth crashing down on his victim's.

Charles unwittingly gasped, allowing Barry to kiss him more deeply. The dark-haired boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out his situation, but to his infinite shame... it was really starting to feel good... in a really awful way of course, but still... He moaned softly into Barry's mouth, cursing his horrid luck and incredible stupidity. "Barry, please..."

Barry withdrew, licking his lips. He admired the flushed and flustered youth beneath him. "Yes, mistah Chawles?"

"Please stop," the dark-haired boy gasped, taking the opportunity to free his hands and try to push the ginger off.

"And what would we have here?" A dark, manly voice suddenly purred behind him.

"Mastah Weavah!" Barry exclaimed delightedly.

_Oh shit,_ thought Charles.

Reaver grabbed Barry by the collar and lifted him off the boy with ease. "Barry, how many times have I told you not to rape the hired help?"

"But he was enjoying it!" Barry whined before Reaver dropped him on the floor.

Reaver peered down at Charles, his cheshire smile seeming to try and comfort the boy. "Is this true, Charles?"

The dark-haired boy quickly rose, shaking his head and shakily straightening his clothes and hair. "N-no master Reaver, not at all."

Reaver nodded and tipped his head toward Barry. "Well did Barry here tell you what that fruit was?"

"Very thoroughly, master Reaver."

The tall master of the house laughed and wagged a finger at Barry. "Shame on you Barry, taking advantage of a drugged young man... again." He looked over at the flushed young man who was standing barely still beside him. "You may want to go and fetch Lucy, young Charles, as I believe she has already sampled that tea you urged her to make..."

Charles had left the room before Reaver had finished his sentence. The tall dark man chuckled and looked down at his ginger servant. "Honestly Barry..."

"I'm sowwy mastah Weavah," Barry said, looking up apologetically.

Reaver leaned down, stroking Barry's jaw with his middle finger. "Tut tut, don't fret my ravishing, red-headed slave. You look so despondent, it makes me want to find a way to cheer you up."

Barry lit up and smiled. "I can think of a few things yew couwld do..."

Reaver chuckled and teased a finger into Barry's mouth. "Normally I would oblige you without a moment's hesitation..." he straightened suddenly so Barry collapsed in a heap in front of him, "but it appears I might have fresh entertainment tonight." He chuckled, ignoring Barry and walking out of his bedroom. "I do hope that girl enjoys her tea, otherwise I might actually have to work at seducing the lovely little minx...

XxX

"Here ye are, miss..."

Lily smiled at the blonde little maid and accepted the cup of tea gratefully. "Lily, my name is Lily."

The maid smiled. "Thankee, miss Lily. My name is Lucy. If you have any concerns or anything like that please do not hesitate-"

"Lucy!" The dark-haired Charles came sprinting into the room. He stopped and stared at Lily, then bowed shakily. "Ma'am, please excuse me, but I have been instructed to escort this young lady home now." He took hold of Lucy's arm, pulling close to her and whispering, "did you drink the tea?"

"I-I had a sip, just to make sure it tasted good..."

"Shit." Charles pushed Lucy toward the exit. "Like I said, miss...?"

"Lily."

"Miss Lily! I've been told to take young Lucy home now. If you need any assistance, please feel free to call on any of the other servants in the household. Please have a good night and enjoy your stay."

She watched the two of them scurry away, frowned and lit a cigarette. "Weird kids," she muttered. She looked up as Reaver swept ceremoniously into the room. "What's up, old man?"

He tilted his head to one side, then shrugged and examined the clothes the tailor had dressed her in. The top was simple, but elegant, jet black with tiny red flowers dotted around the plunging neckline and bottom hem. The bottom was a skirt cut short in the front and long in the back, also black with white stripes and dark red shoes. He smiled broadly and leaned on the arm of her chair, turning his head so he was nose-to-nose with her. "My dear, you look stunning in that outfit. I take it you had a fruitful time with the tailor, then?"

She blew a smoke ring directly in his face, took a gulp of the fruity pink tea and smirked. "I almost cut his nutsack off when he pulled out another corset, but other than that things went swimmingly.

Reaver pursed his lips when the smoke dissipated around his face, trying not to laugh at the sight of the girl drinking the dangerous drink. A hand darted up and snatched the cigarette from her mouth, throwing it into the fireplace. Quick as lightning he had her pinned in the chair, holding her wrists against her sides and holding her legs together with his knees. He grinned at her, his face a fraction away from hers.

She scowled fiercely. "The hell do you want?" she hissed.

He merely chuckled, released her and took a step back, holding out a hand to assist her. "Shall we go to dinner? I hear the tin of the platters striking the table and I am feeling a bit peckish."

She looked at him suspiciously, drained the rest of the tea from her mug, excepted his hand and stood. "I guess I'm pretty hungry, let's go."

Reaver took her arm. "Pretty hungry? I would be tempted to say you should be famished! You arrived here yesterday morning, slept like death and haven't eaten a thing, and I daresay all that wine you drank might still be affecting you..."

He twitched in surprise and silent, pleased satisfaction when she let out a tiny laugh and hugged him arm tightly. "Maybe just a little..."

He chuckled quietly as he swept the girl up the stairs toward the dining room. _Oh, this is going to be fun,_ he thought with growing anticipation and a little bit of malice.

Cliffhanger! Aren't I a stinker? XD I just love writing with Barry Hatch, he is so unfathomably cute... although he is a perv to the max. XD

Spoiler: Dinner time and, oh my, bed time! Brace yourself for lots of sexiness. ;)

Me: See, told you I was going to make you be abstinent for seven chapters!

Reaver: Shall I conduct one of my experiments on you? I think you would make a fine subject...

Me: Oh come on, the seven chapters equal one day!

Reaver: Still too long, my idiotic author. Now shall I experiment with you or should I just shoot you now?

Me: Uh... "... and then Reaver's gun turned into a banana that could double as a vibrator and it came to life and attacked Barry Hatch..."

Reaver: What are you- stop that! Oh Avo, Barry, Run!

Barry: AHHH! Mastah Weavaaah!

Reaver: You fiend!

Me: Muahahaha!


	9. Dinner and Bed

Hey readers, here is chapter nine! I hope you are enjoying my story so far, cuz I worked hard on it so you would!

Anyhoo, copyrights all go to Lionhead and co... except for Lily, she is mine.

Warning: This is a very... descriptive chapter. No actual getting down to business (that is properly described or illustrated, that is) but lots of very sexual scenes... kind of like my past chapters but a little more intense. Also, language and alcohol, but what else is new? Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Nine: Dinner and Bed

Reaver referred to it as a modest dinner, but Lily had never seen a spread of food like what she seeing now in her entire life. There was a whole lamb in the center of the table, adorned with fruits and spices and a thick red juice poured generously over the top. Adjacent to the lamb were several single plates of quail, all rubbed down with a dry, refreshing marinade that smelled of brandy and looked to be stuffed with currants and apricots. In two baskets on either side of the meal were a sort of sticky, firm loaf studded with candied apple and drizzled with a buttery sauce made with brown sugar and cinnamon. Dotted among these were small bowls of fruit and two dishes with a few inches of rose water for dipping your hands in between foods.

The master of the house chuckled when he looked over at his young guest's face and saw the utter amazement in her wide blue eyes. "Feel free to take whatever you want, there is more than enough for the two of us." He grinned when her eyes shone at him with hungry adoration, then let his mouth fall open when she seized a whole quail and wrenched a leg off of the lamb. He shook his head and took a slice of the sweet, heavy bread, stuffing a slice of apricot-soaked quail into a fold and taking a generous bite.

"Oh m' gawd... thish is sho good!" Lily mumbled through a mouth full of lamb leg, reaching for a slice of candied fruit. "Ah've never eaten lahk thish in m' life!"

Reaver just chuckled and cut himself a modest slice of lamb, watching in amazement as she continued to wolf down her food. Then he signaled one of his servants to refill her teacup, which she had already drained twice. The older man secretly felt a little annoyed that other than the occasional smile, the girl had shown no signs of being affected by the powerful fruit he knew was in the tea. He had seen the wrung-out fruit skin for himself and knew how strong the tea must be as a result of it. He just sighed irratably and sprinkled a slice of tomato with salt before taking a large bite, still keeping his eye on the ravenous girl.

She had stripped the quail nearly to the bone and now she was nearly finished with the lamb leg, taking large gulps of tea in-between bites to help wash it down. She didn't notice how Reaver always seemed to glance over when she took a drink of the sweet, fruity drink, she was far more focused on the delicious food in front of her. She took a large bite of sweet bread when suddenly her stomach decided to sharply protest. She set down the food and took a deep breath, realizing that she had eaten way too much way too fast. "Oh m' god..." she groaned, suddenly feeling feverish and over-stuffed. She drained the rest of the tea in her cup, thinking it would cool her off and settle her stomach a little.

Reaver looked up from a quail wing and noticed his ward was looking a little pale and uncomfortable. "Are you alright, my dear?"

She winced at him. "I ate too much too fast. I feel sick."

He frowned in concern. "Well that's not good. Joe, darling, go and fetch something to help settle my guest's stomach. I hate having her in discomfort."

Lily half-smiled and half-grimaced at her. "Glad to know you care."

Reaver took a sip of wine and smiled at her. "Why of course! Mostly because this carpet is one of a kind and it would be an utter shame if you made a mess on it..." he laughed at the scowl that crossed her face. "A jest, my pretty companion. Of course I care for your well-being." He raised an eyebrow as she swallowed another cup of tea. "Not to appear suspicious or anything, but I think it would be better for you if you decided to consume another type of liquid, rather than that tea."

She glared at him. "Why?"

"Just a suggestion. Tea can make one feel sick to the stomach if too much is consumed at once." He poured her a generous goblet of wine and walked it to her himself. "Try this instead. I think you will find it much more settling."

She took the goblet and took a few small sips, smiling softly at the warmth of the drink. "Thank you, Reaver. I feel kind of stupid now."

He leaned over her shoulder, his mouth right next to her ear. "Why do you say that?"

She took another sip and shrugged, bumping her shoulder against his chin. She jumped as a strange shock ran through her body at the sudden contact. She turned her head to try to look at the man beside her, but his mouth brushed against her ear, sending another shock through her body. She shook herself mentally and took another drink of wine, confused and annoyed with herself.

Reaver watched her with great interest, then decided it was finally time to experiment with his pretty little toy. He laid a hand on the back of his neck, amazed at the intense shiver that ran up and down her back at the touch.

_Damn_, he thought as he quickly withdrew. _She definitely drank too much of that tea if she is reacting that violently to me_. He walked smoothly to the other side of her as Joe re-entered the room with a stone cup of a warm green-tinted concoction for her upset stomach. "Don't touch her," he hissed at his servant, taking the stone cup. "Tell everyone in this house not to touch her. Don't even come near her, do you understand me?"

Joe took a step back, nodding violently, and bowed low. "Y-yes master Reaver. I will inform the others right away. Should I send the day help home, as the night crew has just arrived?"

Reaver nodded as he took long steps back toward the girl who was silently drinking her wine. "Yes, send them home. Send home all but the girls in the night shift as well. I won't be needing them tonight."

Joe bowed and scurried out of the room as quick as he could, leaving his master alone with the silent girl.

Reaver pulled up a chair next to the girl after spinning her chair to make her face him. He leaned forward, smiling contemplatively and running a finger across her jaw, watching her twitch and bite down on her lower lip. "Something the matter, my little Lily?"

"No," she said through her teeth, looking at the cup in his hand. "What the hell is that?"

"This," he said, holding up the drink for her to see, "is the concoction that is going to make you feel better. Now drink it down like a good girl and let's retire for the night, shall we?"

She grimaced as she took the cup and sniffed at the green drink within. "Ugh... promise it will make me feel better?"

"My dear, I have a few expert potion makers on call at all times for just these kinds of occasions. Yes, it will make you feel better."

She looked at him dubiously, another shiver going through her when his hands suddenly covered hers on the cup and began guiding it to her mouth. With a weary sigh and a surge of anger at herself for being so stupid, she closed her eyes and began gulping down the drink. To her surprise it wasn't too bad. It was bitter and sour, but it also had a deep earthy quality that she enjoyed, making it much easier to drink than she expected. She licked the last few drops from the inner rim, her tongue scraping roughly against the stone. Already her stomach felt a little better and she could feel her temperature going back down to a pleasant heat rather than a stifling one. She smiled and pushed the cup toward Reaver. "Thank you."

He nodded and set the cup on the table, reaching out and taking a small portion of the pudding that had recently landed on the table. He took a small spoonful and held it out to her. "This will help to get rid of the bad taste."

She frowned, then shrugged and opened her mouth a little, feeling incredibly silly at having to be fed by the man. The spoon brushed against her lower lip as he guided it into her mouth, then his finger rasped against her chin, making her jump and bite down on the spoon harder than she meant to.

"Owch!" She quickly swallowed the pudding and put a hand to her mouth, her bitten lip beginning to bleed. "Fuck me," she said angrily, spitting blood into the rosewater bowl.

"As you wish."

She suddenly reeled back when Reaver's mouth came crashing against hers, his tongue licking eagerly at the bleeding lip. She was about to protest, but the shocking sensation returned and practically paralyzed her, making her dizzy as he rose and pinned her more completely to the chair. Her eyes forced themselves shut under his onslaught and her arms moved on their own to wrap around his neck and pull him closer.

Reaver pulled her up by her waist, turning her around and letting himself sit in the chair with her straddling him, still attacking her mouth with his. He could laugh at how easy she had suddenly become under the effect of the powerful fruit. He wasn't surprised though. He had seen people lose it just from a drop of the fruit's juice, and this girl had drank enough to nearly amount to the whole fruit. He withdrew suddenly, holding her waist gingerly and looking up at her face. To his anger and surprise there wasn't a trace of a blush, just a confused, weary and frustrated expression he hadn't expected to see.

"Something wrong, my pet?"

She almost reeled at the sound of his voice, forcing herself to remain calm and trying to will herself to escape. But as long as he was touching her she had lost the will to move. "I- I can't..." she gasped when one of his hands began sliding up his back, expertly untying the cords on the back of her corset.

"You can't what?"

She shook her head and covered her face with her hands, infuriated with herself. What was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly so weak and so easily bent? "I can't... be touching you..."

"And why not," he purred, a little irritated with this answer.

"I don't know. I don't feel right."

He smirked and licked her throat with his rough tongue, holding her steady as her body arched away from him. "Perhaps we should go to bed then. Surely a little sleep will help you feel better."

She gasped when he lifted her suddenly, her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck and both of his hands firmly on her ass. "No..." she gasped, trying to pull herself away. "Don't- not there!"

He chuckled into her neck and began carrying her to his room, shifting her into a more comfortable position. "Deary me, my little Lily, you sound so uncomfortable. Shall I let you walk yourself?" He suddenly let her down, then caught her as she almost fell over. "Tut tut, if you can't walk on your own then don't complain when I try to help you."

She bit her lip as he swept her back up, bridal style this time, and buried her face in his shoulder from sheer shame. Why was she acting like this? What was wrong with her? If she could she would kick herself a hundred times. _I'm going to give him the wrong idea_, she thought, a trace of panic building in her chest. _What if he tries something again? I don't want that... I don't_- "Ah..." she gasped when he jostled her a little, the shock surging through her body again.

"Careful, little Lily," Reaver purred, sweeping into his room and depositing her onto the plush bed. He watched her land on the soft blankets and roll over, curling up into an ashamed ball. "What's wrong?" he asked, beginning to take off his clothes. "Are you uncomfortable? I'll bet you are, still dressed up in those stiff clothes. Let me help you."

She looked up, her eyes wide, as he knelt on the bed beside her, quickly untying the corset and tearing it off of her. "No, stop..." her protests were cut off when he bent down and kissed her again, harder and more aggressively than last time. He quickly and easily removed her undershirt and layered skirt, leaving her in her bra and panties. He released her mouth and leaned back, casting the clothes away from the bed and standing up.

She shivered against the cold sheets, curling back into an ashamed ball and watching him warily as he gathered the red silky nightgowns she had been wearing just that morning. She blanched when he turned back towards her and seized her ankle. "No!" she cried as he yanked her toward him, unclasping the bra easily and casting it toward the pile of her other clothes.

"Tisk tisk, don't be so fussy," he said huskily, taking in her body greedily. He hooked her panties with a finger and slid them off over her legs with a little work, admiring her white skin against his red bed.

She had her face buried in the red material, too ashamed to even move. If she didn't feel so weak and shaky it would be easy to fight back, but this strange illness had her at a strong disadvantage. She jumped when his hand landed on her shoulder and forced her to roll onto her back and look at him.

_Dear Avo_, Reaver thought when her face finally turned toward him. She was blushing a slight pink color, her eyes half-shut and her mouth open as she drew in tiny gasps of air. He had to look away to keep himself from taking her right there, his control close to breaking. "Would you be more comfortable in your nightclothes, or as you are?" he asked in a low raspy voice, smoothing the material on the silky night shirt.

She rolled over again, burying her face in a pillow. "I don't care."

He shrugged and discarded the nightclothes. "Very well then," he said with a low chuckle. With that he finished removing the rest of his own garments, blew out the nearby candle and slid under the covers with practiced ease.

Lily gasped when he suddenly seized her and pulled her under the silky sheets with him, her mind going blank and her body numb when he pulled her body against the entirety of his own. All she could register was the feeling of his long, hard body pressed mercilessly against her small, soft one. "R-R-Reaver," she stuttered, tilting her head back to look at him.

He grinned down at her, a hand sliding down to grab roughly at her ass. "Yes, m'little Lily?" He watched her eyes flutter and her face flush in reaction to him.

"Uh... uh..."

He touched a finger to her mouth, pulled her up a little and crushed his lips against hers, loving the way she fell limp against him. He traced the dimples in her lower back with a middle finger, the other hand giving attention to her neck and shoulders, taking time as it eventually travelled to her tummy, then slowly up...

"Mmm..." Lily squirmed against him when his large hand reached her breasts, every muscle in her body twitching in response to his touch. "Mm-mmm!"

He withdrew his mouth from hers and pushed her onto her back, one hand still massaging her breast while the other supported his weight. He nipped at her collarbone, letting his long hair brush against her sensitive skin, moving down slowly and suddenly planting his mouth on her other breast, listening to the quiet, uncontrolled sounds she was making with infinite pleasure.

"R-Reaver," she gasped when he nipped at her breast with his sharp teeth.

"Yes m'pet?"

She shook her head, wanting to tell him to stop, but unable to form the words. Instead she tried pulling the sheets modestly around herself, the action instantly stopped by the quick movements of the man hovering over her.

He dipped his head so his mouth was close to her ear. "Come now, you can't tell me you don't want this."

She blinked, still trying to figure out why she was acting this way, then came up with an idea. "Y-you- you put something in my food, didn't you?"

"I'm offended," he said, putting a hand over his heart as if wounded by her words. "My dear, I can honestly say I did not have anything put into your food that would alter your actions. My servants however," he chuckled, "sometimes have minds of their own."

She glared furiously at him. "There was something in my food! You poisoned me!"

"I did not!" Reaver sat up and shook his head sternly. "I would never do that. I did notice, however, that one of my cooks happened to get into a batch of fruit that sometimes works as an aphrodisiac..."

"You bastard!" Lily cried, kicking herself away from him and wrapping the sheets around herself. She was still breathing hard and dizzy, making it difficult to get a handle on herself. "You complete and utter asshole," she spat. "How could you take advantage of me like that? I hate you!"

He growled and lunged toward her, grabbing her by her chin and throat and drove her down onto the plush pillows behind her. "Taking advantage of you? No, my Lily, it is you who is taking advantage of me. You present yourself to me so alluringly and expect me not to act on your advances, such a shameless little thing you are. As to you hating me, shall I persuade you otherwise." He straddled her, crushing her into the softness of the bed beneath them. "Shall I ravish you until you scream my name? Or will you admit that you brought this on yourself?"

She glared at him as best she could through the drug-induced haze. "I did no such thing. You misinterpreted... uhn!"

He looked up from biting her breast. "I tire of your excuses and diverted blame. You must learn to take responsibility for your actions." He smirked at her. "Will you?" When she didn't respond her began to lower his head again.

"Wait!"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I- I'm sorry if that's how I presented myself. I was unaware of what I was doing."

"Then I'm afraid I must be unaware of what I am about to do to you..."

"What do you want me to say?"

He grinned and sat up, pulling her into his lap. "I just want you to call my name without control of yourself."

She went limp in defeat, hanging her arms on his shoulders. "I can't stop you then. You're no different from the man who gave me this scar." She made a startled noise when he threw her roughly back onto the bed.

"Never," he hissed, "ever compare me to that scum. I told you I've never taken a bed mate against their will, and I'm not about to start with you. But tell me," he traced her jaw absentmindedly with a finger, "are you as completely unwilling as you say, or are you simply to frightened to accept me?"

"I'm not afraid of you!"

"So you say, and so you appear, but not even five minutes ago your own body was more than willing to accept me." He looked sideways at her. "Do you deny this?"

"Th-that was because of the-"

"That fruit does not make you into an uncontrolled animal, my dear Lily. It merely enhances the experience." He grinned at her. "It becomes more potent when you are faced with a person of significance, however. So I was deeply flattered when you reacted to violently to me."

"I'll react violently, all right," she said quietly, though the venom in her voice has lessened quite a bit.

"I would prefer if you didn't." He sat back and looked at her calmly. "I know you want this, your body already has told me. I just want to know why you are denying yourself."

She looked away, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "I-I'm not. I just can't forget..."

"Then let me help you," he purred, stroking her neck and shoulders. "I can wipe every trace of that man from your mind and replace him with myself."

She put her hands on his chest as he began to ravish her again, then closed her eyes as the shocking sensation became a warm, intoxicating sensation that flooded her senses and made her mind clear and aware of every touch of his fingers and mouth on her body. "Reaver," she sighed, subtly startled at the change within herself.

He seemed to be purring deep in his throat as he pulled the sheets over them and descended on her, taking every memory of her wretched past and replacing it with himself.

OMG that was sooo fun! Hooray for Reaver finally getting his chance to take a whack at Lily!

Just a quick note, I am not a fan of gooey, romantic Reaver stories. I think Reaver is an ass and will always be an ass (it's part of his charm), but I also think that when he really really wants something, if he has to act like a sweetheart to get it he will. I don't want any of you to think that like, they're falling in love or anything. I don't even know where their relationship is going to go, but I highly doubt I'm going to end up writing a "let's fall in love and live together for eternity" Reaver story, cuz I personally do not like those. It's almost impossible to write one while keeping Reaver properly in character... so idk.

Spoiler: Remember how Reaver has nightmares? Idk if it's going to be the next chapter or one after that but it's going to be dark, scary, emotional and probably damn sexy.

Thank you for reading! I love you all!

Reaver: I say, I don't like this idea of being forced to have one of those infernal nightmares!

Me: Oh don't worry, it won't be that bad.

Reaver: Oh, so you are toning it down for the readers then, I take it?

Me: Oh no, it's going to be as horrible as ever, just a little different from what you're used to.

Reaver: …

Me: Um... and you know... nightmare stuff...

Reaver: **click**

Me: Eeek!

Barry: No, Mastah Weavah, she was so nice and let you have yer way with that kyoot giwrl!

Reaver: **points gun** Shut up, Barry.

Me: Oh noes! **flees**


	10. Restless Dreams

Here is chapter ten! Sorry it took so long, but I went through a little drama with my pet cockatiel, Cotton, dying and that put me off my writing for a bit. But the chapter is really really long to make up for the wait! So enjoy!

Copyrights concerning Albion and such go to Lionhead... but Lily is mine.

Warning: This chapter is a little scary, I guess, but not too descriptive. If you don't like reading Reaver nightmares then just skip this chapter I guess, or at least skim until you hit the first XxX cuz that's where the dream kind of takes it's own turn and it's important to the story and stuff... There is language as usual and some nudity, but it's not described too much. Just a mention here and there. That's pretty much it! Enjoy!

Chapter Ten: Restless Dreaming

Lily's eyes half-opened, her sleep disturbed by an unidentified noise. She groaned softly and rolled over to face the most tragic and frightening expression she had ever seen on anyone's face ever. She quickly and smoothly slid to the other side of the bed, pulling the sheets around her bare chest and looking with wide eyes at the man sleeping beside her.

His face was pulled tight, his eyes squeezed shut hard and his mouth open slightly gasping for air. He was ashen white and covered with a film of cold sweat and individual muscles twitched at random all over his body. He suddenly gnashed his teeth and flung his whole body onto his other side, grabbing at the blanket and his pillows, his whole body tense and trembling.

"Reaver-?"

"It would be better to leave him be."

Lily looked up at the hooded woman who had appeared at the foot of the bed. She nodded and tucked the sheet more modestly around herself, then turned back to the man beside her. "Why? He just looks like he's having a bad dream."

"The dreams that man dreams are not like anything you can even imagine. They are of his past, which is both long and troubling. One as young as yourself could not understand."

"What do you mean?"

"His years are more than ten times what you have lived, and he had truly experienced what it means to lose everything."

"I don't know about the years part, but I know what it's like to lose everything."

"And have it ripped to shreds before your own eyes and know that it was entirely your fault?"

"Oooh..."

The hooded woman inclined her head toward the shivering man. "It would be impossible to understand unless you were willing to see for yourself."

Lily frowned. "How on earth would I be able to see it for myself."

Theresa stepped forward and placed a thin white hand on the young girl's forehead. "Do you want to see?"

"I suppose..."

"So be it then."

"Wha-" Lily's eyes suddenly shut and she fell back onto the bed after a flash of white light from Theresa's palm.

"Sleep, little runaway. If this man is to be your teacher, it is only fair that you know his... colorful past."

XxX

She opened her eyes to see a lush field of green and a magnificent sunset falling behind a sloping hill and a distant cliff. "Wow," she breathed, sitting up to look around her. A playful breeze swirled around her, making her look down and blanch slightly. "Um, Theresa?"

"Yes?"

"I think you forgot something... I'm not wearing clothes."

"This is a dream, little runaway. Just concentrate on the clothes you want to be wearing and that problem will be solved."

"Oh." Lily shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked down. She was now dressed in a shortish black frock with a medium length cloak draped behind her. "Excellent," she said, and stood up. She gazed around her, taking in the natural beauty of the countryside bathed in the golden-red light of the sunset. "If this is a nightmare, I would love to see what a good dream is for him," she muttered, draping her cloak over one arm and stepping onto a nearby trail. She couldn't see where it led to, but it looked friendly enough, so she stepped out and began to follow it.

"Rory!" a young voice shouted, the tones littered with giggles. "Rory, stoppit! I swear... oof!"

Lily ducked into a shallow depression behind a rock, almost surprised that she was crouching over a thick spread of yellow flowers. "God, this whole place is like an optimistic painting on acid." She inhaled and hid herself more effectively when a golden-haired girl rolled into view.

The little thing was wearing a blue and yellow dress with a white shawl wrapped around her shoulders and soft-looking brown and white shoes. Her golden hair was a wild, flower-dotted mess that swirled prettily around her soft, but thin little face. Her skin was lightly tanned and her cheeks showed a faint pink flush of sun beneath her big, bright blue eyes. She giggled and sat up, trying to smooth her dress and braid her hair at the same time. "Honestly, Rory, we are going to have plenty of time to roll around tonight after we are married."

Lily peeked out a little further and almost gasped out loud when she saw a young, tan and thin version of none other than Reaver come bounding over the knoll of grass to land next to the blonde girl and kiss her ferociously.

"I know that, my love, but I simply can't help myself."

_My lord, his voice sounds so young and strong... is this a memory from when he was a teenager or something? And he's getting married tonight?_ Lily shook her head and withdrew slightly, still watching the lovey young couple. _God... I'm going to be sick._

The blonde girl kissed the tip of Reaver's nose and giggled. "Well try to resist just a little bit, and I will give you whatever you ask for tonight."

He smiled and brushed her hair back. "I cannot wait, my precious little flower."

_Wow, she is acting dirtier than he is. A sign of the end of times!_

A loud, indiscernible voice roared across the hills, and the blond girl stood. "That sounds like my brother. My mother must have sent him to fetch me to prepare for the wedding."

Reaver stood and took her hands. "Stay with me a moment longer for the sunset to finish."

The girl smiled and hugged him. "Alright, you big baby. But as soon as the sun is gone I've got to run home or my mother will scold me something fierce."

Reaver just smiled and stroked her hair, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips to her forehead.

In her hiding spot, Lily gagged.

In a few moments the sun had sunk behind the crags of the distant cliff and behind the roll of the hills. The blond girl kissed Reaver on the cheek and pulled away. "I'll see you in a few hours, my Rory."

"I will see you then, my Lily."

Lily started and frowned. Had she heard that correctly? Was that girl's name really Lily? Or was that a pet name that Reaver had come up with for her? _Come to think of it_, she thought, _that girl has called him Rory several times now. That means at some point Reaver must have changed his name..._

The young version of Reaver watched the blond girl dash away over the hills, then sat and sighed heavily. "I'm not ready for this," he groaned. "I want to marry her, but I'm so afraid. I don't want to ever leave her, or let her ever leave me." He punched the ground and groaned again, putting his forehead on one knee. "What should I do?"

The blond girl's voice came drifting over the green fields, distant, yet clear. She was singing a simple tune that sounded like a lullaby a mother would sing to her restless child before bedtime.

"The sirens of Oakvale,

the sirens of Oakvale.

They come in the night,

with the full moon bright,

to grant a one wish,

in Oakvale.

The sirens of Oakvale,

the sirens of Oakvale.

They fly through the reeds,

to hear someone's needs,

of a mournful soul,

in Oakvale.

The sirens of Oakvale,

the sirens of Oakvale,

If your heart is pure,

and your wish is sure,

sirens will hear you,

in Oakvale..."

Lily tilted her head to one side. _I think I've heard that song before_, she thought. She started when young Reaver suddenly started laughing.

"Hahaha, that's it! The sirens! On a full moon, legends tell that the sirens appear near Oakvale and grant one wish to whoever can find them! It's a long shot, but maybe there really is truth to that story." He stood and brushed himself off. "I think I know where I can find them too. There's that underground cavern that's all carved out and looks like some sort of temple. I'll bet that's where the sirens would be, if anywhere!"

"The sirens?" Lily wondered out loud, standing to watch the young Reaver run down a path toward a rocky depression in the direction where the sun had set.

"An ancient legend in the extinct town of Oakvale," Theresa chimed in. "Legend tells of a group of three sirens who, in return for a favor, will grant the wish of one person on the full moon. Like most legends, it is heavily based on a truth of an ancient and ominous nature. But time and whimsy dulled it down to a song sung to children at night, and it became nothing more than a passing fancy for most of the residents of Oakvale."

"What ancient and ominous truth was it based on?"

"You will learn more soon, but I can tell you that there is indeed a trio of dark creatures who grant wishes to this day, but their price is heavier than most people can pay and their existence is barely noticed in Albion today."

"So Reaver is on his way to make them grant his wish now?"

"Follow him and find out for yourself."

Lily sighed and took off down the hill where Reaver had gone, trying to spot the young man from her higher vantage point. "I don't see him." A thin golden trail suddenly began to sparkle before her, making her stop. She knelt and tried to touch it, but it seemed to dissipate before her hand could even get near it. "What the hell is this?"

"A guide I am projecting to help you find your way. It's one of the few ways I am able to help you."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess." She stood and started chasing after the golden trail, keeping her eyes ahead of her and still trying to see where the young Reaver had gone. "How far away is this trio of wish-granting specters?"

"You will know when you reach your destination."

"Fine," Lily grumbled, climbing over a steeper part of the trail. When she reached the top she could clearly see the valley below her. A large metal gate fenced off a part of the landscape that looked to be dead, sharply standing out against the vibrancy of the rest of the world around her. "I'll be a son of a whore if that's not where I'm bound," she said quietly, and began descending the trail in front of her.

When she reached the opening at the front of the metal fence she suddenly felt a cold draft and could see the intricately carved stone entrance in front of her sunken slightly into the ground. She walked forward cautiously, not liking the feel of the area. It looked very dark and gloomy, not like the abode of wish-granting sirens. She gulped and thought about what Theresa had said about the trio being ominous and demanding heavy sacrifice. "Reaver, what have you gotten yourself into?" she said under her breath as she carefully entered the darkly-carved entrance.

The walls seemed to exude evil, and the halls seemed to breath and beat on their own. She could hear footsteps ahead of her and hastened to catch up to the man she was following. "God damn, this place is creepy."

"Why have you come to us, mortal?"

Lily stopped at the sound of the booming, grating voice and began sneakily creeping through the hallways. She came to a flight of stairs and crouched at the top of them, trying to see what was at the bottom. All she could see was young Reaver standing nervously, looking up at something.

"I- I have a wish to make."

"Tell us what you are wishing for."

"I'm getting married tonight, and I'm afraid I won't be able to always be there for her," Reaver stuttered. "I- I can't die and leave her behind. I'm terrified of dying and leaving her alone. I-" he gulped and stood up straight. "I want to be able to live forever!"

Lily put a hand over her mouth. "Reaver... what are you doing?"

"Be quiet, little one," Theresa chided softly.

The harsh voice rang through the tomb-like structure again. "Very well, young Rory, but for all your years to come, you must pay a price. Every ten years you must bring us a sacrifice to pay for your immortality. If you do not, we will come for you, and take your body and soul to be tormented for eternity."

"Wait, no-!"

"Too late! Even now our minions are on their way to extract the initial price for our services to you!"

"Wait! What about my wife? What about Lily?"

The girl at the top of the stairs shivered.

"Go back to your home now, Rory. We are finished with you. At least until ten years from now."

"No! No, don't hurt Lily! Don't you dare touch her! Please!"

Lily watched him fall to his knees and fell back as he let out a scream that made her blood run cold. She then scampered back and started sprinted out of the place as he stood and charged up the stairs.

"Oh god..." she gasped, turning another hallway and being faced with another long stretch of stone and stairs. "I can't let him see me! I've got to get out!" She spotted a glimmer of silver light and charged towards it, bursting out of the stone entrance, charging through the iron gates and diving behind a bush for cover. She watched through a hole in the bushes as the young Reaver came charging out at full speed, his face as pale as she knew it to be in waking life and tears streaming down his face.

"Follow him," Theresa said hurriedly. "You must see what is about to unfold."

Lily nodded and watched for a moment as he charged down a road arching to the left of the iron gates, then quickly jumped out and followed him.

Young Reaver sprinted up a small incline and practically flew down the hill toward a small town that might have once been quaint and charming, but was now filled with darkness, flames and screams. Lily stopped at the top and covered her mouth with her hands, watching him run into the town screaming her name, or the name of his wife-to-be. The black-haired girl shakily moved a bit further down the path before collapsing on what worked as a vantage point and watched in horror.

Faceless shadows moved everywhere, chasing terrified villagers as they tried to escape. When they were caught the creatures would envelop them and rip the life out of them until they turned to dust and scattered in the breeze. Even women and children were being caught up by the shadows, no one being spared.

"LILY!" young Reaver shrieked as he ran wildly through the town.

"RORY!" The blond girl burst out of a house, stumbling in her long white dress and holding out her arms toward the young man. "Rory, help!"

He dashed toward her, but was seized and thrown back by two of the shadow minions. "NO!" he screamed, trying to struggle back up.

"RORY!" The blond girl shrieked as three shadows enveloped her.

"NOOO!"

"So this is the woman you mentioned."

Young Reaver looked up at a reddish shadow figure, this one much larger and more stable than the minions.

Lily wanted to cry out, to help, to do something... but she couldn't move her legs to rise, much less run to the assistance of the young man. "Reaver..." she choked. A black hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, making her gasp and whirl around.

Reaver as she knew him was standing there, looking down at her with a mask of fury and tragedy covering his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I- I..."

"Please!" young Reaver cried, rolling onto his knees. "Please don't kill her! Don't take her away from me!"

The shadow figure stared at him, then moved closer. "Very well, young Rory. We won't take her soul, but her body will come with us."

"No-!"

"RORY!"

Lily watched as the blond woman was ripped to shreds, her body flying into hundreds of pieces before turning to ash and scattering on the ground like snow. "Oh my god..." She yelped as she was suddenly pulled back and pinned to the ground by older Reaver.

"I asked you what you were doing here?" he hissed, holding her down firmly. His face was red and there were tear stains on his cheeks, his normally clear black eyes red and bleary.

"I- I don't know," she gasped. "I just..."

"Tell me, girl!"

"You were having a nightmare and I wanted to comfort you but Theresa said it would be better to leave you alone and I asked her why and she said you had experienced things I couldn't even imagine then said if we were going to be working together I should see and then she brought me here and I was curious so I went along with it and- and..." she blinked rapidly as she felt her eyes burn. "I'm sorry Reaver."

He stared at her, then rolled off and put his head in his hands, staring at the scene in front of them. "I didn't want you to know."

Lily turned to watch. Young Reaver was kneeling on the ground curled up in a ball of anguish as destruction roared all around him, the shadows turning the town into a circus of darkness and death. "Why did you do it?"

"I was afraid," he said resignedly. "I was afraid to die. I convinced myself it was because I didn't want to leave her behind but..." he looked down at his younger self and shook his head. "I was selfish and didn't want to face death. Once I got the idea in my head I couldn't shake it out, and getting married didn't help either." He smiled painfully. "Ah, I was so young and naive back then."

Lily stared at him, then bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He frowned at the town, the whirlwind of shadows and death subsiding suddenly and leaving a rank stillness behind it. "That always startles me, no matter how many times I see it. They left so fast it took me a while to realize it was over." He stood and stretched distractedly. "Would you like to go see the destruction I wrought on this town?"

Lily looked up at him. "I- I don't think I should even be here."

"Hush," he said quietly, pulling her to her feet. "You're here, aren't you? You may as well take it all in." He put an arm around her and began stumbling down the path toward the blackened, smoking town.

"What about your younger self? Can't he see us?"

"No," Reaver shook his head. "He cannot. I know because I have tried hundreds of times to stop him, to keep him from going to that wretched place and making that deal, but no matter what I do he will not see or hear me."

Lily walked over to where young Reaver was crouched and stood a few feet away from him, staring at the despairing man. The boy was curled up in as small a ball he could fold into, sobbing loudly and saying "Lily," over and over again. The black-haired Lily knelt and stared at the man for a few moments, then shook her head and covered her face with her hands.

Older Reaver sighed and walked over to a nearby building, leaning against it and folding both hands into fists so tight blood seeped out between his fingers. A thin, black rain began to fall over the town, swirling the ashes of the villagers into a macabre pool in the center of the town.

Lily looked up and let the rain run down her face. "The rain is warm."

"It is," Reaver said without moving. "It's as warm as blood, and it will last for several weeks, eventually turning this place into what will be known as the Wraithmarsh."

Lily closed her eyes against the stinging warm rain and let out a heavy sigh.

"Well... what have we here?"

Lily and the older Reaver whirled around to face the large, red shadow figure that suddenly appeared in the midst of the town, their surroundings freezing and melting into ash and marshy ground.

Reaver pressed his back against the building he had been leaning against, stumbling when it crumbled away from his weight. "W-what are you doing here? How can you see us?"

"I am not bound by the rules of the subconscious, Reaver," the shadow snarled, it's formless mouth cracking into a large smile.

Lily scrambled up and stood, facing the shadow creature boldly. "I assume this isn't typically part of the dream," she quipped, narrowing her eyes in righteous anger. "What do you want with him?"

"Oh, my dear girl, he is not the one I want," the shadow chortled, swooping close to her. "You, however, are quite the rare find. I had not expected you to return here."

"You're fucking crazy," Lily spat. "I've never been here before. Now go back to your hole and leave us alone." She made to ignore the creature and took a step toward Reaver, but three shadow minions swarmed out of the ground and seized her, dragging her to her knees. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Stop!" Reaver shouted and moved to help her, but the red shadow form swept in front of him and stopped him with a gesture of a twisted limb.

"You want to help her?"

"She has no part in this!"

"That may be so, but it's not every day we find such a creature wandering our world." The thing turned its head to look at her with red eyes. "A tiny little soul that was not meant to return to this world. I sense something has meddled with our affairs." It turned to look at Reaver again. "You know that is a violation of our contract, Reaver."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"She does not belong in this world!" the shadow roared, growing suddenly to twice it's size. "She was born in another world and was meant to stay there and-"

"I was told to come here!" Lily cried, struggling hard against the twisting shadows that held her. She gulped as the thing turned around and moved so it's face was right in front of hers.

"Were you? Who was the one who told you to come here? Was it him?" It gestured at Reaver.

"No!" she said firmly, ripping an arm free. "It was an old woman who told me I belonged here, that I no longer had a purpose in my world."

"So you are from another world," the shadow hissed, pulling itself upright with a pleased expression. "We don't see very many visitors from other worlds..."

"Leave her be!" Reaver demanded, flaring up in anger. "You have no use of her!"

"Perhaps..." it sighed, gliding back so it could look at both of them. "Maybe we just want her for our collection..."

"You cannot have her!" Reaver growled, balling his fists furiously.

A tiny smile dimpled Lily's scar as the black-haired girl watched the two banter.

"Well, maybe we can make a deal," the shadow said, laughing darkly.

Reaver blanched. "No..."

"Yes. We will make an arrangement." The shadow smiled at the man. "You will have a choice this time, Reaver, so do not fret."

XxX

Lily blinked, suddenly finding herself at the bottom of a dried up Bower Lake. "What the fuck-" she looked around, registering that no one was around anymore. She tried to stand but found her wrists and ankles were fastened to chains that tethered her to the bottom of the lake. She could stand in a crouching position, but could not straighten any further than that. "Fuck," she grumbled, looking around. A few feet away was a pole with a silver key hanging on it, dangling tantalizingly before her eyes.

"Of course it's too far away," she said angrily, yanking at her bonds until the skin on her wrists tore open. "Theresa! Reaver! Where the hell are you?"

XxX

Reaver found himself in a shapeless gray expanse, kneeling on the smoky ground and looking up at the Shadow Court hovering above him. "What did you do you vile, filthy, wretched tricksters?"

"Gently, Reaver," the shadow on the left cooed.

The shadow on the right chuckled darkly and seemed to wring it's hands in glee.

The largest shadow in the middle smiled and pointed at the man. "This is our arrangement. You have a choice, Reaver. Look."

His eyes followed the gangly arm that pointed to his left and his black eyes widened. He could see his departed wife-to-be sitting in the middle of a half-burnt Oakvale, chained to the ground and terrified. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again in a stubborn, tight-lipped line.

"... and on your other side..." the shadow chuckled, pointing to Reaver's right.

He stared at the ground for a moment, unwilling to see what was waiting for his eyes, then glanced up and took a peek. He gulped, and his heart sank into his stomach when he saw his black-haired ward chained to the bottom of Bower Lake. "What do you want me to do?" he asked miserably.

"You have a choice, Reaver," said the one in the middle.

"You can either save the love of your life and would-be-wife," said the one on the left.

"Or you can save that girl you've known for barely a week," the one on the right snarled.

The one in the middle spread it's arms. "You can only save one. Neither of them can see you. Whomever you save with be returned to your world, healthy, safe and exactly as they were, but the other will come with us to add to our collection of damned souls."

All three laughed. "Choose wisely, you're time starts to run now."

Reaver jumped up as they began to fade away, and looked at the two girls frantically.

"Reaver!" Theresa's voice broke in urgently. "You must not let the runaway die here. The shadow court cannot have her!"

"Silence, witch!" he roared, putting his hands over his ears. "The choice is mine!"

XxX

Lily struggled violently against the chains, lunging valiantly at the pole, but not being able to rip free. "God damn it!" she shouted, pulling as hard as she could. She stopped, a deep rumbling sound reaching her ears. The chains clinked as she sat back and began looking around frantically, searching for the source of the noise.

Water began to seep into the lake bed, pooling around her legs and turning the sandy lake bottom into slushy mud.

"Oh shit..." She tried to jump up but was yanked back down by the chains, falling back to her knees with a wet thud. "Oh shit!" she yelled, redoubling her efforts to tear away from the chains and reach the key on the pole.

XxX

Reaver tore his eyes away from the struggling black-haired girl and turned his eyes to the scene on his left. Oakvale was once again consumed in flames and his old love was struggling against her own bonds and screaming pitifully... and screaming his old name. Reaver put a hand to his forehead and scraped away his sweat-soaked hair, looking from one Lily to the other.

"Fuck!" he screamed. "I always told myself if I had another chance to save her I would, but..." he looked at the black-haired Lily who was struggling heroically to escape. "But she died so many years ago, and I don't want to take the life from that young girl." He frowned and bit his lip, thinking about all of the things he knew and did not know about the mysterious girl from Los Angeles. "I- I can't choose."

"If you do not, they will both die," Theresa said angrily. "You must choose now, but remember, that runaway has a place and a purpose in Albion right now and your gold-haired woman does not. She left this world more than three-hundred years ago and-"

"Shut it!" Reaver growled, shaking the hair from his eyes. He looked back at his would-be-wife, smiled sadly, then turned and sprinted toward the struggling black-haired girl in the lake.

XxX

"Fuckfuckfuck!" Lily screamed as the water lapped at her collarbone. She lunged again at the key, the manacles around her wrists tearing her skin and turning the water light red. Her feet floated a few inches above the mud beneath them, the water pulling her further up as it rose again.

She let out a breath she hadn't meant to hold and landed on the bottom of the lake again, the water now splashing onto her face and chin. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the water rise above her mouth. _Well that was the shortest adventure anyone has ever had ever_, she thought bitterly, rolling her head from side to side to affirm her lack of an escape. _So much for having a purpose. I would have at least lived if I had stayed in that filthy apartment!_

A loud splash made her turn her head and roll her eyes to see what was in the water with her. She pushed herself up and took a breath when she saw Reaver swimming toward her. "Reaver!"

He didn't stop, but dove under the water to inspect her manacles. He resurfaced and shook his head, then looked the girl in the eye. "How do I undo these?"

She tried to point with her eyes and a nod. "T-the key- the key on the pole over there."

He turned. "Where?"

"It's underwater now, but it's there."

He nodded and dove under the water, looking about until he saw the rough outline of a pole about five feet away. He was about to swim to it but he stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Lily was almost fully submerged, barely able to keep her nose above the rising water. She submerged for a moment to tap Reaver on the shoulder and give him a glare that screamed "HURRY!"

He nodded, then turned and struck off through the water, finding the pole and examining it. He found a niche where the key had obviously hung, but was no longer there. Surfacing to take a few gasps of air, he tried looking in the water around him, but the water was too murky. "Damn it," he muttered before diving back into the water. Mud billowed up as he ran his hands through it, searching as fast as he could. His hand struck something smooth and hard and he fumbled to wrap his hand around it. He surfaced to examine the largish silver key in his hand, grinned and turned to see that the girl had vanished from the surface of the lake.

Lily had never opened his eyes underwater when she was a child because she hated having the water in her eyes, but now she stared with wide eyes at the green and brown water surrounding her. Her lungs and throat were burning for air, but she knew better than to oblige them. I've had drowning dreams before, she thought. You can breath in those, but I'd rather not risk it until... Her mouth burst open on it's own to shout a word that was lost when Reaver suddenly appeared before her.

He stared at her face a moment, then surfaced and pulled in a huge breath of air. He forced himself down again and pressed his mouth against hers, forcing the breath into her mouth before surfacing again. He took a moment to compose himself, then dove and found her ankles, shoving the key into the individual manacles shackling them.

Lily watched as he rose past her again, then was pushed back by his mouth shoved against hers. She took in the air, then watched as he quickly unlocked the manacles on her wrists and pulled her roughly to the surface.

They both gasped for breath as they broke through the surface of the water. Lily tried to hold her own, but fatigue and blood loss threatened to drag her back down into the water.

"Easy, love," Reaver said gently, pulling her up as she began to sink. "Put your arms on my shoulders, that's a good girl."

Lily just glared at him, then sighed and put her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Reaver."

He smiled and pulled her into a comfortable position in his arms as he slogged out of the lake onto the barren shore. "It was your fault for trying to drown yourself again, my dear. Please try not to do so anymore, it's quite nerve wracking."

Lily shrugged and looked up, noticing three dark creatures hovering in the sky. "Reaver...?"

"What?" he asked grumpily, then followed her eyes skyward. "Oh god..." he muttered, setting Lily onto the ground and fully facing them. "I made my decision, now leave me alone!"

"Very well," they hissed in unison before shimmering out of sight and beginning to take the remainder of the dream with them.

"What?" Lily asked, jumping up as the world began to fall apart.

Reaver ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"What choice?"

"It does not concern you."

"It does because I was your choice!"

"And this is a dream," Reaver said , turning on her as the sky turned dark. "You will not remember, or care when you wake so what does it matter?"

"Reaver..." Lily said softly, cupping his cheek in his hand.

At that moment the ground dissolved and the two fell into oblivion as the dream shattered and roughly jolted them back into reality.

Well that was fun! ...and long... But fun! I enjoyed it.

Reaver: My, for someone who doesn't particularly enjoy romantic stories involving me, you seem to be pushing me closer and closer to that girl.

Me: Don't tell me you don't like it.

Reaver: I could tell you so all I like, but would you listen?

Me: Probably not. If you don't like it, then just suck it up.

Reaver: Hmmm, and who shall I suck up for you?

Me: … um, Logan?

Logan: WHAT?

Reaver: Well hello my king! My, you look tense today...

Logan: Augh! Stay away from me!

Me: … **nosebleed**

Spoiler: The next chapter is the ball! Pretty dresses, dancing, and lots of Lily abuse! I might even introduce the younger sibling of Logan next chapter... but I'm torn between whether it should be the prince or princess. It was be the same story, just a little more sexual tension between prince and Lily, and I never get tired of emotionally raping her... hahaha.

So hey, lemme know if you guys want prince or princess, okay? Feel free to suggest names as well, and I will give a disclaimer to whom the name belongs to. ^_^


	11. Explicit Awakening

Alright, well I might have lied to you in the last chapter spoiler... This chapter is just pure smut after Lily and Reaver wake up. Next chapter will be the ball, I promise.

Copyrights... blah blah blah... Lionhead... blah blah blah...

Warning: This chapter is pure smut and descriptive sex and whatnot... Yeah, pretty much. If you don't like sex scenes then, literally, just skip this. It's nothing but sex and cursing and sex and smoking and sex, so ye be warned!

Chapter Eleven: Explicit Awakening

Lily woke up to find an arm draped across her chest and a mouth on her tummy. "Reaver..."

"Awake already?" he huffed, not bothering to look up. "I was hoping I could have a little more time with you in your delicious comatose state."

She sat up and pushed him off, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. "Not now. Jesus, that was a bad dream."

Reaver plucked the cigarette from her hand and bravely took a drag. "Ha-hem, indeed it was. I'm used to it, but you foolishly decided to get involved." He grinned and took another drag, suddenly beginning to enjoy the flavor and the buzz. "A rash decision that nearly ended you up dead, my little Lily."

"You're fiance's name was Lily," the black-haired girl said suddenly, lighting another cigarette for herself.

"Yes it was."

"You gave me the name Lily."

"Technically you chose that name for yourself."

The girl glared at him. "You were the one calling me that all the time. I just liked the ring of it, I didn't know it was the name of your dead girlfriend."

Reaver arched an eyebrow at her. "Your point, little one?"

She scratched her head, ruffling her hair adorably. "I'm bound to assume you were calling me that because of your fiance, unless you have a better excuse."

The older man sighed and flicked the ashes of the cigarette onto the stone floor. "You crawled out of the lake, and you are not the most unattractive woman I have ever seen. You were a soggy little flower, so I called you Lily. Also," he began inspecting his fingernails, "there used to be the most beautiful lilies that grew in that lake, back in the time of Queen Sparrow. Your name very well could have been a subconscious memento to their departed beauty. Quite poetic, is it not? All those flowers gave their lives to bring the most beautiful flower to Albion."

Lily couldn't help but smile a tiny smile and turned away to take another drag of her smoke. "Yes, I suppose it is poetic, if you look at things that way. I still find it quite a coincidence that your departed girlfriend and I share a name."

Reaver blew out a cloud of smoke and traced a few fingers gently up her spine. "Love, that woman died more than three-hundred years ago. It is a coincidence indeed. If you insist on taking this further, I might insist on activities that will leave you speechless."

Lily chuckled and flicked her smoldering cigarette butt into the fireplace to die. "Is that your answer to everything, Reaver? Sex?"

He laughed and disposed of his cigarette in a similar manner. "Not always, but what a wonderful answer it is! I am always astounded when someone has the gall to turn me down. There's nothing a good romp can't fix, as far as I'm concerned."

Lily laughed, actually laughed out loud, and fell back onto the bed next to the man, all her nakedness exposed to him. "I wish I could live as simply as you, Reaver. I'm afraid I'm stuck with the ideals of doing the right thing and trying to work things out for the better."

He turned onto his side and rubbed a hand across her body, admiring the smooth, white skin. "I used to worry about those things, and then I lived for some three-hundred years. You begin to take things into perspective at that age, my dear."

She closed her eyes when his head descended on her and put the crook of one elbow over her hooded eyes. "I guess I'm just very young and full of strange ideas. Owch, not so rough!"

He looked up with a grin, then slid next to her more comfortably and rolled half of his body on top of hers. "If I remember, you enjoy a little roughness."

"Teeth are another matter, and yours are sharp."

He just smiled, grabbed her, and rolled so she ended up on top of him with much protestation.

"What the hell is this?"

"Come now," he said with a dark purr in the back of his throat. "Won't you oblige me a little? I've done quite a bit of work up till now and I feel as though you need to do a bit yourself." He smiled up at her outraged face and took firm hold of her hips, pulling them gently back and forth in a rocking fashion. "If you need to be taught, I am happy to help."

She tried to stay angry, but the irrepressible man beneath her was teasing her into submission. She allowed a small gasp and tried rocking her hips back and forth on her own, adding a little dip downward to grind against him a little. The surprised and lustful look on his face was totally worth it, and Lily began trying different tricks and techniques to tease him.

Reaver found he was pushing his head back into the bed behind him and holding her hips much harder than he meant to. He shifted one hand to her thigh and the other to her stomach, watching as she rocked back and forth on her own. He raised his eyebrows slightly when she popped a pinky finger in her mouth and pulled it out slowly before reaching up and grabbing one of her breasts and playing with it shamelessly.

_By Avo, she learns quickly_, he thought, mildly impressed with her antics. _For someone who claims to hate sex, she is really rather good at it_. He sat up suddenly, pulling her close against him and lifting her up slightly so she could feel him fully grown between her legs. She looked at him with her head tilted to one side, traced the scar on her cheek lightly with a middle finger, then reached out and kissed the tip of his nose. He inhaled sharply and began lowering her onto himself, holding her steady so she wouldn't slip and go down too fast.

He made full use of his and her mouth, stifling her small gasps and noises as they slowly became one. Once he was all the way in he leaned back and laid on the bed again, smiling up at the trembling, confused girl. "Well go on, love." He smirked. "Fuck yourself on me." He loved the shade of shameful pink she turned when he spoke and executed a tiny thrust upward.

"Ah..." she gasped and put her hands on his stomach. "I- I can't. I don't- know how."

"Do what you were doing before," he said softly, putting his hands on her hips again. He pulled her forward, then pushed her back, watching every change of her face in the process.

She took a deep breath and rocked forward... a little too fast. She gasped and planted a hand on his chest while doubling over. "Gods..."

"Go on," Reaver encouraged, sucking another kiss from her open mouth. "You're doing fine."

She nodded and sat up again, every move ticking through her sensitive body as she sank back down onto his full length. She bit down on her lip and moved forward again, then rocked her hips back with the same dipping movement from before.

Reaver watched in satisfaction, guiding her occasionally with his hands. Eventually he showed her how to move up and down and how to swirl her hips in a dancing motion, something she was surprisingly good at on her first try. "I say, in all honesty, you pick this up faster than anyone I have ever had the pleasure to teach."

She just looked down at him, her mouth half open, her eyes half shut and a slight sheen of sweat covering her skin. She smiled slightly, closed her eyes and shook her head, coming down on him and remaining still suddenly. "Shut up Reaver."

He laughed at her, then sat up and swung her onto the bed beneath himself. "Or shall I shut you up, so you say?"

She stared at him, then grinned and turned her head to one side with her eyes shut. Reaver leaned down and planted his mouth on her neck, using his hands generously as he guided her into a more comfortable position. He noticed, with a slight blow to his pride, that she was struggling to stay awake even as he was teasing her. "Falling asleep, love?"

The black-haired girl looked up at him with adorably sleepy eyes, then nodded slightly. "Yeah, but no more nightmares, k?"

He huffed and sat back, staring down at his neglected hard-on. "My dear, if you should fall asleep, then whatever shall I do with this annoyance?"

She propped herself onto her elbows and tilted her head at him quizzically. "I don't know. Whatever you want to do with it, I suppose."

"Oh?" he said in a teasing, amused voice. He reached out and seized her by the back of the neck, quickly and carefully dragging her face close to his lap. "How about I put it in your mouth?"

She closed her mouth tightly and shook her head. "Nn-nn!"

He chuckled and pushed her mouth closer. "Come come, don't keep me waiting."

She tore her head away and glared at him furiously. "As if I would do something so absolutely disgust-" She made a choked, surprised noise when he shoved himself in her mouth suddenly.

"There now, it's not that bad, is it? Watch those teeth now dear..." He flinched when one of her hands latched onto his balls tightly. "So feisty," he growled, pushing himself in and out of her mouth, still holding her hair tightly. "Don't hurt me now. You're not exactly in the most resistant position."

She inhaled and closed her eyes when he pushed deeper into her mouth, releasing her hold on him so she could steady herself. Slowly, she wrapped a hand around the base of his shaft and began moving her mouth on her own, applying slightly pressure with her hand and experimenting with her lips and tongue.

Reaver rolled into a more comfortable position on his knees, holding the girl in place in his lap. He gazed lustfully at her small white ass poking awkwardly into the air, then carefully reached out and gave it a good smack, opening his own mouth slightly when her mouth tightened around him. "My dear, you are quite talented, I hope you know."

She looked up at him, pulling all but the tip of him out of her mouth. "Hm?"

He shook his head and pushed her head back down. "For the love of Avo, don't look at me so adorably. Small wonder you were raped, beautiful little creature as you are."

She glared at him, then closed her eyes and dedicated herself to her task for several minutes, experimenting aggressively with her tongue and the movement of her head. Her eyes popped open when the object of her attention began pulsing and suddenly seemed to grow bigger. "Hmm-?"

Reaver let out a noise that sounded like a highly satisfied purr and growl rolled into one when he arched back and let go. He made sure to look down to watch the expression on the girl's face when he came, gaping slightly when she only flinched for half a second and did her best to drink his essence as it spilled into her mouth. A huge grin grew over his face and he pulled her upright, consuming her mouth in a rough, sloppy, sucking kiss. When he pulled back he had to wipe her chin with his thumb to clean it.

Lily took his hand and popped his thumb into her mouth, her eyes still half-shut, then looked up at him when he started chuckling. "What?"

"Nothing," he said jovially, flopping back into his bed and throwing an arm over his eyes. "You simply seem to exude sexual prowess."

She smiled and laid down next to him, snuggling under his arm and rubbing her ass against him. "After spending any time with you, I'm not surprised. Are you?"

He laughed softly. "No, not really. Sleep, little Lily, you sound exhausted."

She made a sleepy, indiscernible response and snuggled a little closer to him.

He pulled the sheets around them, frowned at the damp feeling in a few spots, tucked them securely around the girl and shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position. "G'night, Lily."

Okay, please no one bitch at me for Lily being out of character in this chapter. She was sleepy and Reaver was horny and nightmares make girls horny too so... yeah. She's not out of character, just out of her element, and let's just throw in that the aphrodisiac might still be working it's magic on her too...

Reaver: I certainly don't mind.

Me: It's probably the best way to wake up from a nightmare.

Reaver: Indeed it is...

Me: Lol

Spoiler: Okay, next chapter is the ball for sure, and I'm still going back and forth between writing with prince or princess... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :)


	12. Morning Practice

Chapter Twelve is here, and I'm sorry, I'm going to stop putting in spoilers because this is the second time I've lied to you. The ball is not in this chapter either, I'm very sorry. But you do get to see Lily use magic in this chapter, along with a super steamy scene.

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Language, tobacco use, etc... and another graphic sex scene. Ye be warned.

Chapter Twelve: Morning Practice

When Lily awoke it was because of sheer stifling heat. Her body was covered in sweat, the thin sheet clinging to every contour of her body. "Jesus christ," she groaned, throwing the sheets off and sprawling on a cooler section of bed. She opened one eye and glanced around, surprised that she had the bed to herself. "Where the hell is he?" she muttered, standing and casting around the room to look for some sort of clothing. She spotted the red nightclothes discarded next to the bed and slipped into the bottoms when she noticed a lacy white man shirt delicately laid over the back of a chair. She grinned and slipped it over her shoulders, tying it shut and stretching leisurely in the massive bed.

Then her stomach growled enormously. She doubled over and held her stomach, waiting for the rumbling to subside before she stood, her eyes glinting passionately for sustenance. "Must... find... food..." she growled, stumbling towards the doors, pushing them open and stalking toward the kitchen with a hungry, predatory stance that resembled a hungry lioness.

"Oh, miss Lily!"

The black-haired girl glanced at the little blonde maid that popped up in front of her. "Oh, um, Lucy, right?"

The maid smiled and dipped a cute curtsey. "Yes ma'am."

Lily nodded and glanced at the empty dining table longingly. "Uh, morning."

"You look very hungry. Shall I fix you some breakfast?" The maid smiled at the look of hungry adoration she received. "I will take that as a yes. Master Reaver is taking his breakfast outside. Feel free to join him and I will bring you something to eat as quickly as I can."

"Um, okay." Lily smiled and pulled the shirt more tightly around her, wandering to the front door and stepping outside. _Jesus fuck, it's bright_, she thought when the sunlight hit her eyes.

"Well good morning," a familiar, jaunty voice called to her from her right.

She looked over and saw Reaver sitting inside a small house-like structure, his legs propped on a stood and a cup of tea in his hand. "Morning," she mumbled, wandering over to him and standing there awkwardly.

"I am merely waiting for Barry to come and set up a little table for us to eat at, so feel free to sit and join me in the balm of this pleasant morning."

She cast around, then looked at him. "Where?"

He chuckled and patted his leg. "Here, of course."

Lily looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and carefully positioned herself on the far edge of his thigh.

"No need for that," he said jovially, grabbing her waist and pulling her fully into his lap. "And might I say, I think my shirts look better on you than they do on me."

She smiled and relaxed a little against his broad chest. "It looked more comfortable than the night shirt, and I thought you might like it."

He shrugged and took a sip of tea then offered her the cup. She gave him a stern and dubious look, making him laugh. "No worries, little Lily. I assure you this tea is quite safe for your consumption, though I'm not past slipping you a little of what you drank last night."

She elbowed his arm meaningfully and drained his cup, thinking it would quiet her angry belly.

"Gently now, Lily," he chided, taking the cup back and looking at it's emptiness sadly. "I would say I would hate to abuse you again, but that is just a lie. I would actually really love it."

Lily wanted to scowl, but instead just laughed and shook her head. "You're such a perv, Reaver."

"Mastah Weavah and miss Wilwy?"

Lily looked up to see a pale, red-headed servant standing nearby with a heavy-looking wood table. "Uh, hi. You must be Barry."

The servant smiled at her and bowed, stumbling over the table he was holding and slamming it down onto the ground with a crack. "Ack! Er, yes ma'am, I am Bawwy, at yer service."

Reaver stood quickly, popping Lily onto her feet next to him and straightened the table. "Thank you Barry, you've done well. Now be a good lad and pop into the kitchen and check on our breakfast, will you?"

The red-headed servant bowed and quickly scuttled away, keeping his head down and his hands clasped.

Lily grinned, crinkling her scar. "Nice fellow."

"Indeed," Reaver chuckled. "Just don't leave yourself alone with him for too long, he has persuaded even me into crawling into bed with him." The raven-haired man laughed at the disgusted look on the girl's face and winked at her. "Don't be so disapproving, m'love. I assure you, he is quite a wild thing under the sheets."

"Ugh," Lily groaned, sitting down on the stool. "I should have made you wear a condom..."

Reaver just laughed and pulled his chair forward to sit in front of the table, propping his elbows under his chin and inspecting the girl's face. "Where is the man who did that to you?" he asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Lily looked up. "Did what?"

"Took you against your will and disfigured your lovely face."

Lily frowned and fidgeted with the hem of the shirt. "I told you, no one could find him. I don't know."

"I would like to find him," Reaver growled, pulling the side of his mouth open to show sharp, white teeth. "I would like to show him what happens to people who tamper with what is mine."

Lily shook her head. "I'm not yours Reaver. Just because you're supposed to be teaching me and I slept with you doesn't make me your possession."

He smiled charmingly and reached across the table to cup her chin in his hand. "Doesn't it?"

Something turned uncomfortably in Lily's stomach, and she pulled her face away from his touch. "No, it doesn't."

He chuckled, leaned back and said nothing, watching as the girl pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it, smoking leisurely in the quiet musk of morning.

"Your breakfast, Master Reaver and miss Lily." Lucy the maid appeared in front of the table suddenly, holding a large tray heaped with food. "I hope it's to your liking, and if you need anything, do not hesitate to call."

"Yes, thank you Lucy," Reaver said curtly, taking a slice a bread.

The little maid blanched, curtseyed quickly and scurried away as fast as she could. "Something's got him upset," she said quietly to herself as she took the front steps two at a time.

Lily grabbed a muffin and a plate of sliced fruit that looked like peaches, eagerly digging in. She glanced up at her silent, stony companion a few times, noticing that with every bite his face grew a little stormier. Finally she set down a slice of heavy bread she was eating, took a drink of tea and looked him square in the face. "What's wrong with you?"

He looked up at her, his face impassive but his eyes raging. "Nothing," he said quietly, calmly spreading butter over another slice of bread.

"Lies," she said playfully, reaching out and taking the bread and putting it on her own plate. "Lies and deception."

He seized her wrist fast as lightning, leaned across the table and pushed his face close to hers. "No one will touch you again," he said in a quiet, poisonous voice. "Do not make light of our situation, you are mine and I will protect you from anything and anyone who might harm you. Do not tell me you are not mine, because I will force you to realize the fact of it if I must."

Lily stared into his black eyes, blinking in surprise. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

He shook his head, pulling her further across the table. "You don't understand the position you and I have landed in together, thus you do not take it seriously."

"Then explain it to me," she said irately, trying to pull back to a more comfortable distance.

He held her firm and raised an eyebrow at her, then released her and sat back, picking up his tea and taking a long drink.

"Reaver?" Lily put her hands on the table as if ready to stand. "What's wrong?"

The raven-haired man put his cup down hard and looked away, the stony face breaking for a split-second into a picture of anguish, then back again. "Nothing, darling, don't mind me."

"Tell me!" Lily cried, banging a fist on the table. To both of their surprise, fire seemed to spurt from her fist and splashed across the remains of the food, enveloping everything.

Reaver quickly and neatly jumped back, patting down his pants and shirt to make sure he was unharmed. He glanced over at Lily, who had fallen back away from the table and was staring at it in shock. He smiled and shook his head, strolling over to pick her up. Her legs were weak and she stumbled a few times before managing to stand and lean against him.

"W-what did I do?"

"That, my pretty little compatriot, is called the power of will, or magic." Reaver stroked his chin pensively. "So you are of hero blood after all."

"W-wait," Lily hit his chest lightly with her fist. "Tell me what's bothering you!"

Reaver rolled his eyes and pulled them back another step or two as the fire flared. "It's nothing."

"You're lying!" she said, pushing herself away to face him. "It has something to do with our dream last night, doesn't it? Tell me Reaver, what happened to you before you came to pull me out of the lake?"

His eyes locked onto her face, pinning her like a snake would pin a mouse, then he looked away and ran a hand through his hair. "If you really must know, I sacrificed my wife for you."

"What?"

He smiled painfully and looked down. "The shadow court told me to choose between the two of you and I chose you."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Lily watched as his face fell and he sat on the ground, staring at the lake.

"I always told myself I would save her if I had another chance, but I chose you instead and I don't know why."

Lily felt the hair on her arms rising as she realized how close she had come to death. She knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "I don't know why either, but thank you. I didn't want to die."

He looked at her, then shrugged. "What happened has already passed, let's forget about it."

She sat back, then looked back at the table that was almost burned out. "We should put that out."

"Do you know an ice spell?"

"Pardon?"

Reaver looked at her. "You obviously know fire, but do you know ice?"

"I don't know! It happened on accident!"

Reaver sighed and leaned back. "What did you feel when it happened?"

She frowned and sat down next to him. "Nothing really. I was just mad because you were aggravating me."

He chuckled and closed his eyes. "I aggravated you? What a turn-around for us. Well, this is just a theory, but maybe when you are angry that can be channeled into fire. What if you tried feeling sad, or happy or icy-"

"Is icy even a feeling?"

"Sometimes a person can be described as acting icy, so perhaps it is a feeling that causes that demeanor. Why don't you try channeling another emotion, other than anger, because I think you're already quite accomplished with that one."

The black-haired girl tilted her head on one side, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What should I try?"

"Whatever you want, love. Start with something basic."

She let out a breath, held out her hands and began concentrating. _What emotion should I try? I'm not really good at feeling them on the best of days... Maybe a memory or something can help trigger it._ She wrinkled her forehead and searched for a memory that could be powerful enough to spark up emotions for her. A clear picture of her brother suddenly came to mind, his face when he smiled, the feeling of his hand ruffling her hair when he was teasing her. She took in a sharp breath, her chest tightening at the memory.

"Channel that feeling," Reaver said softly in her ear, making her neck bristle slightly. "Push the feeling all the way to your fingertips and further."

She nodded, biting her lip as she tried to grasp the feeling of sadness welling up inside her. It was scattered and messy and threatened to throw her in every direction, but she forced herself to clear her mind, capturing the feeling with sheer willpower and slowly trying to force it into her hands.

And then... nothing.

"What the fuck?" Lily said angrily, reaching up to scrub a moist eye. "I tried, okay? I tried as hard as I could." She looked over at Reaver in disappointment. "It didn't work."

He grinned. "Well then let's try something else." He lunged forward and pushed her down, pinning her wrists to the ground and sliding his body into a familiar position over hers.

"Reaver, stop!" Lily gasped, struggling weakly. "This is not the time or place... we can't do it out here... get the fuck off of me!"

He just chuckled and tore the buttons off his shirt with a sharp jerk of his hand before knocking her legs open with his. He held her hands firmly in place with one of his, using the other to gently massage her breasts while he ravished her neck with his mouth.

"Uhgn..." she moaned, her hips arching up on their own. "R-Reaver... stop..."

He brought his hips down in response to hers, grinding generously as he eased one of her legs into position on his lower back. "Let's see what this might produce," he purred in her ear, gently releasing her hands and pulling her up slightly.

She was sitting straddling his lap now, her shirt flapping open and her bottoms ripped at the most convenient place for him. She shook her head and grabbed his cheeks with her palms, looking him in the eye. "This isn't going to work. It hasn't before- uhhh..." she rolled her head back as he slipped a hand inside her ripped bottoms and began teasing generously.

"That's because you fought me every time before, and the times you truly seemed to enjoy me you were either drugged or sleepy, so let's give it a try with you wide awake and in a proper state of mind." He smiled at the way she melted into his arms and chest, pulling her into a more comfortable position. "Come love," he whispered furtively, loosening his pants. "Bend a little more completely for me."

She moaned out loud at his words and clung to him as he pulled himself out and began easing inside of her. "No..." she gasped in a tiny, unsure voice. "W-we should go inside."

"We're doing this right here," he said huskily, before thrusting all the way inside her. He had to clamp a hand over his mouth to muffle her scream and held her still for a few moments to wait for her to stop trembling. He then stood, holding her up by her bottom, and carried her to the nearby guard shack.

She opened her eyes when she landed on a wooden shelf with her back to a wooden wall. "Where are we?" she asked in a small voice.

He kissed her hard on the mouth and thrust himself more completely inside her. "Don't worry about it, darling, just enjoy yourself."

She moaned and leaned back as he began to move inside her, succumbing completely to his body as it lavished hers with attention. She arched her hips up, moaning at the sensation it caused, and bared her chest to him as an invitation.

He smiled and placed one hand on her breasts, treating them with a roughness he knew she would enjoy. As he predicted, she constricted a little around him and pushed her head against the wall of the shack, moaning quietly. "How do you feel?" he asked, seizing her by her hair and pulling her face close to his.

She replied by smashing her lips against his, opening her mouth eagerly to him and pulling him closer with her legs.

He pulled back for long enough to say, "that good, eh?" before she captured his mouth again.

_Aggressive_, he thought, once again impressed by her. _By Avo, if every woman I bedded were like this I would be crippled by now. The little thing is a wildcat when you get her into it._

"Reaver," she suddenly said with a little gasp.

He kissed her again before answering, "yes, love?"

"I- I feel strange."

"How so?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and increased his pace slightly, licking her neck and jaw to taste her ecstasy.

"I don't- know..." she suddenly gasped, her eyes springing open.

Reaver had to wrap his arms around her as she constricted around his so tightly he thought he would be pushed out. His mouth opened and he quickened his pace, holding her still as her body shook within his arms.

She gasped and wrapped her arms around him as well, her body convulsing as she finally hit her release. Her hands that were clutching the skin on Reaver's back suddenly seemed to flash with a bright blue light that made her close her eyes and look away.

"AAAH—rrrg..." Reaver stiffened suddenly, gripping her much harder than necessary, then suddenly relaxed and leaned against her, breathing hard.

"Reaver?" Lily tapped on his back. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He shook his head and let his arms rest on the shelf on either side of her. "This was a very bad idea."

"Did I hurt you?"

"Darling, I cannot move. You tell me if you hurt me or not."

"What do you mean you can't move?"

"I'm stunned. My muscles won't obey me."

"Did I do that?"

"No one else could have."

"How?"

He sighed and ticked his head to one side so he was resting against her breasts. "I believe it would be the shocking spell. I've had it used on me once before, but in much less comfortable circumstances."

She cupped his face in her hands and raised it to look at him. "Did I hurt you?"

He glared at her. "Yes. Yes you did."

"I'm sorry."

"No matter," he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against her chest again. "We shall simply have to stay like this until the paralysis wears off."

"M-Mastah Weavah!"

Lily gasped at the sight of Barry standing just outside the guard shack, staring at them and the burnt table.

Reaver ticked his head slightly to look at him. "Ah, Barry! Do be a love and go get me the anti-paralysis potion, there's a good lad."

Barry nodded and darted back into the mansion.

Lily shifted slightly, then decided to remain still upon discovering that they were still technically joined. "Um, Reaver?"

"Hmmm?"

"You... um well your... how do I say this?"

"I'm not as large as my usual glorious self?"

"A little more flattering than I wanted to put it, but sure."

"Darling, when you shocked me, you forced me to finish inside of you."

"Wha-"

"Oh, hush. It was your fault. If you get pregnant, however, I may have to renegotiate our terms with Theresa."

"What?"

"Haha, just kidding, my dear. Where is Barry?"

"Here, Mastah Weavah."

Lily looked up to see the red-head with a medium-sized bottle in his hands.

Reaver glanced at him. "Ah, excellent. Just hand that to the lovely girl I'm smothering and be off with you."

Lily took the potion and watched the dejected servant wander back to the house. "Uh, what should I do with this?"

He ticked his head up and winked at her. "First, get us both onto the ground."

After much struggling and a few banged-up limbs later, they were both comfortably positioned on the floor of the guard shack.

Reaver tilted his head to one side, letting it roll against the wall of the shack. "That was unpleasant."

"Sorry."

"All is well, my little flower. Just slip some of that potion into your mouth now and pass it to me."

She glared at him. "Why can't I just pour it into your mouth?"

"Well that just wouldn't be as much fun, would it?"

She shook her head, filled her mouth with the concoction and passed it to the paralyzed man in front of her. "Ick, foul." She looked at him expectantly. "How do you feel?"

He sighed and stretched his neck a tiny bit. "I'm getting there. It still might take a bit for the potion to take effect." He looked at her curiously. "I would like to see you perform that spell again, though not at me of course."

Lily smiled and shook her head. "I don't think I should."

"I do," the raven-haired man said sternly. "I am your teacher, and this is how I will teach you. Now try it again."

Lily sighed and held out her hands, trying to recreate the moment it happened in her mind. Her body stiffened, her mouth opened slightly, her eyes fluttered, and a sudden burst of blue, shocking light burst from her hands and shattered the small building on either side of her.

"Oh my god," she whispered, looking at her hands. "Thank goodness that wasn't fire."

"Excellent!" Reaver said, slowly raising one hand in congratulations. "And the show that goes with it is quite the bonus. You looked completely enraptured."

She frowned and looked down. "I'm sure I can work on that."

"Now do it again."

"What?"

He smiled at her. "Practice makes perfect. I want to see you do that spell ten times in succession, less than three seconds apart from each other."

"You're crazy!"

"I am your teacher, and you will do as I say. If that makes you angry, then go shoot ten fireballs into the lake."

She glared at him, then crossed her arms stubbornly. "No until you're better and I get a change of clothes. These are completely ruined, thanks to you."

He chuckled and closed his eyes. "Fair enough."

Yay! So sexxxy! And Lily is finally using magic! Yay!

Here is a summary of chapter 12.5... basically what's in-between this chapter and the next one:

Lily trains her magic skills like crazy while Reaver watches.

Lily's workout = 1,000 fireballs and 1,000 shock spells

Reaver sexually harasses her (what else is new).

That's it!

It was basically just a really boring chapter and I decided not to post it.

Spoiler: I'm not promising the masquerade, but I'm hopeful I will finally get around to writing it. I think I'm going to go with the prince, just to create an air of jealousy for Reaver dearest, but I need a name, otherwise he will just be "the prince" the whole story through.


	13. Hide Your Face

Okay! Chapter thirteen is up and ready for reader's consumption! I finally wrote the first half of the masquerade! Yes, only the first half. The second half will be in the next chapter, but only because this chapter was getting way too long. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy!

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Yet more foul language, but there is much less of it now, thankfully. (reader: **reads first line** "Mmhmm... less language, huh?" Me: "There is, I promise! Just not there...") There are also sexual scenes (again), and a slightly frightening scene during the party, but not to worry, it's not too intense. Also, there is strong alcohol use in this chapter, but what do you expect of one of Reaver's parties? ;)

Chapter 13: Hide Your Face

"Can't- go on... tell Theresa... to- to go... fuck herself..." Lily collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted.

"Quite a nice show, love," Reaver cooed proudly, strolling over to her limp body and poking at her with his cane. "I actually didn't think you would be able to complete a thousand of fire and shock each, but you certainly proved me wrong." He nudged her with his toe. "Lily?"

She rolled over and glared at him. "Shut up, I'm dead."

He grinned and poked her in the stomach. "I think not. Come, we still have to prepare for the masquerade tonight."

She pouted and threw her arms in the air. "Carry me!"

"Really now," Reaver said, rolling his eyes. "You must be joking."

She kicked her legs against the ground, feigning a tantrum. "Ca-ha-har-harr-harry meee!

He stared at her, watching as she dissolved into giggles and rolled helplessly on the ground. "Dear Avo, maybe a thousand each was a little too much. It appears as though your mind has snapped." He cracked a grin and handed her his cane. "Fine then, hold this."

Lily caught the cane when he dropped it on her, then smiled enormously when Reaver stooped to pick her up. "Heeheehee, thank you Reaver! You're such a sweetheart."

He just shook his head and carried her into his mansion, up the stairs and to the bathroom.

"Where are we going?" she asked sleepily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We are going to get cleaned up and ready for my party tonight."

"Oh m'god, there's gonna be a party?"

"Yes. Yes there is."

"Oh m'god, that sounds like so much fun!"

"Darling, would you like me to get you one of those things you like to smoke?"

"Oooh, yeah. Yeah I do."

"Alright then."

Lily gasped as she was dropped into an empty tub and quickly undressed.

"I will have the maids bring up some hot water and then rejoin you after I fetch some things."

She watched, forlorn, as he took his cane from her and strolled out of the room. "Awww, I'm alone now." She slid down into the empty tub, shivering, but appreciating the feeling of the cold porcelain against her aching body. "Ahhh... feels nice. I don't know what he was thinking, a thousand of each... that was murder."

"Miss Lily?" A brown-haired maid popped her head into the bathroom. "We have the hot water. Do you want it now or when Master Reaver returns?"

"Uh..."

"Right now will be fine ladies."

Among a tirade of giggles, Reaver strode into the bathroom in absolute naked glory, two glasses of wine and one of Lily's boxes of cigarettes in his hands. "Just pour the water and fetch us some towels, we are capable of washing ourselves."

The three maids scurried into the bathroom and dumped six buckets of steaming water into the tub, making Lily yelp as the heat hit her skin.

"Gently ladies, miss Lily has delicate skin." Reaver grinned at them as they left, then shut the door and set the wine and smokes next to the tub. "Feeling any better?"

She looked up at him and blinked. "You're bathing with me?"

"Why of course. It's a rule in my household, no one bathes alone." He chuckled and slid into the tub next to her, hooking a wine glass for himself and popping a cigarette into her mouth. "Now hush and smoke that foul thing and stop acting like a child."

She giggled and nodded, looking around for a lighter. "Uh, Reaver?"

"What?"

"You didn't get me my lighter."

"Why would you need a lighter?" He grinned and winked at her. "Light it with your magic."

Her mouth fell open. "You must be kidding me."

"Not at all. Just control the size and intensity of your fire spell and it should be quite easy for you."

She glared at him, jabbed her middle finger into the air, and focused as hard as she could. In a few moments a weak flame flickered out of her finger, and with a little struggle she managed to light her cigarette.

"Charming," Reaver chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. "For someone who woke up not knowing she could use will power, you've developed yours very well today."

She smiled and took a long drag of her cigarette. "You think?"

"I do. Most heroes spend years trying to do what you've done today."

She smiled at him and reclined a little, enjoying the warmth of the water.

Xxx

Reaver laughed out loud at the sight of Lily being strapped into her masquerade costume by three maids. One maid was trying to tie the bodice and corset, another was trying to put on the skirt and the third was tying her hair into the hat and mask she was to wear for the evening.

"What's so funny?" she growled, holding onto a chair as the maid pulled her corset laces tighter.

"Nothing, m'dear." Reaver smiled and strolled to the other side of her, examining the dress. The tailor had done a masterful job. The top was a delicate white bodice laced into a black corset with thin straps that narrowed to a tiny cord around her shoulders and hooked around the back of her neck. It had a plunging neckline, complimented by white lace poking out strategically, and the bottom tapered in several petal-shaped ends that feathered around her stomach. The skirt was long and swept onto the floor, the top half black with dark gray accents and tiny white lilies dotted everywhere at random. The bottom swooped out onto the floor with a grayish red inlaid with thin green vines and several more white lilies branching off of the delicate stem. She also had sleek black gloves that covered her slender hands and tied off nicely at the wrists with small red cords. The mask was a large white lily that branched around her face, the petals curving intricately to allow openings for her eyes. Strands of pearls and rubies dangled from the mask to be woven into her hair as it was weaved up into a half-braided bun tied off at the base of her neck.

She glared at him when he traced the mask with a gloved finger, admiring the sleek, strong beauty it presented her to be. "What?" she demanded, grabbing his hand.

He lowered her mouth to plant a small kiss on the demanding hand, smiling charmingly. "To put it simply, you look absolutely beautiful."

She smiled at him, reaching over to a small table and picking up a simple black mask with an elongated nose. Standing on tiptoes to be able to reach his face, she carefully tied the mask onto his face with the ropes of braided black silk. "You don't look too bad yourself, mister Reaver."

He took her chin in his hand, chuckling. "That's master Reaver to you, darling, and only "not too bad?" I don't think so." He took her by the waist, tying off the corset himself, signaling the maids to leave and pushing his face as close to hers as the mask would allow. "I would like to think I look like a god among men, the likes of which neither common man nor woman can resist." He chuckled and spun the girl in an experimental circle to see how well she could maneuver in the dress. "Now tell me that you can resist me, my pretty little flower."

She smirked at him and pushed the mask up a little so she could see his face a little more clearly. "I don't know, I'm pretty sure I could resist if I wanted to."

"Is that so," Reaver said softly, teasing her neck gently. "Shall we have another romp to rectify this false truth?"

She laughed and pulled the mask back down. "Jesus, don't you ever get tired? Maybe after the ball, if you insist."

"Oh but I do," the tall man purred, exploring the most effective ways of removing the elaborate clothing. "Maybe if we're lucky we shall have a few bed mates tonight as well."

Lily frowned and looked away.

"Whatever is wrong with the notion of sharing the bed?"

"It's not the bed I have a problem with." The girl smiled a little and put her arms around the man's neck. "Maybe my problem is sharing you."

He laughed and shook his head. "Oh, so the truth comes out. Well then," he swept her to one side and held her in a low dip, "maybe I'll humor you for a little while, my pet. But I warn you," he caught her and knelt on the floor beside her, "you best keep me sated or I might be running off with the first common tart to cross my path."

"You don't think I can keep you sated, Reaver?"

He sat back, a smile creasing her face when she pushed him back and tugged at the buttons on his pants. "What's this?"

She looked up and pouted from underneath the mask. "Open them."

He chuckled and unbuttoned the pants with ease. "As you wish, m'love."

The black-haired girl smiled and pulled his pants open, peeking inside tentatively. After a moment of consideration, she wrapped her hand around him and pulled out his shaft, putting her mouth on it carefully.

Reaver drew in a hissing breath, leaning against the wall behind him. "Easy love, I would hate to rip that dress off of you. It was rather expensive."

The girl just shook her head and pushed her mouth further onto him, sucking generously and using her tongue as best she could. After a few minutes she looked up for approval.

Reaver let out a breath and nodded at her, wanting to reach out and push her further onto his cock but not wanting to mess the carefully braided hair. He swallowed when she descended on him again, a cheshire grin spreading across his face. _Lovely_, he thought. _I've never had a masked woman do this for me before._

Lily looked up and wiped her mouth, then pushed his shaft aside and pushed her face into his pants, searching for his sack.

Reaver hissed and pushed his head back when she took his balls in her mouth. _Avo... No woman has ever done this for me at all..._

She pulled back and smiled at him, removed a glove and placed it on his shaft before returning to her task. Her mouth made tiny slurping noises as she moved him around with her tongue, making sure to give his length full attention with her hand.

"Avo," Reaver whispered, watching her carefully. "Where did you learn this," he gasped, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She wiped her mouth and smiled at him. "Where I come from, people are well educated in this sort of thing, even if they've never done it themselves." She gave him a long, sudden lick, loving the way his grip tightened on her shoulder. "It's called porn."

"It's called what?"

"Porn. It's like, um, instructional pictures and such that people use to learn more about sex."

Reaver grinned and leaned back. "I see."

Lily smiled and dipped her head back down into his pants, pumping him aggressively with her hand.

"Uhn..." Reaver shut his eyes and grabbed her neck carefully. "Lily, bring your mouth up."

She quickly pulled back and put her mouth on his cock, sticking her hand inside his pants. After a few moments she was rewarded with a mouthful of cum and a very ecstatic Reaver hovering over her. "Mmm," she used a finger to catch any spilled essence, popping it into her mouth with relish. "You are delicious."

Reaver pounced on her, tearing the mask off and ravaging her body with his hands and mouth. "And you are a damned temptress," he growled, pulling her skirts up.

She laughed and tried to push him away. "After the ball, Reaver, I will sate you completely. I promise."

He pulled back and stared at her, then sat up and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Very well."

"Mastah Weavah?"

The raven-haired man looked to the door to see Barry Hatch standing there, top hat in hands along with a couple of scrolls. Reaver quickly stood and buttoned his pants before addressing his servant. "Hello Barry, what do you have for me?"

The red-headed servant stepped forward, eying Lily, who was getting off of the floor and straightening her dress. "I have news fer ye, Mastah."

Reaver took the scrolls, opened them one at a time and perused them quickly but carefully. After examining the last one, a vindictive grin spread across his face and he swept up his hat, placing it snugly on his head. "Well well, tonight looks to be a bit more interesting than I anticipated. Have any of them arrived yet, Barry dearest?"

"Thwee of dem, Mastah Weavah. There are two more to come."

"Excellent," the tall man chuckled, striding over to his discarded mask and handing it to Lily. "Be a dear and put that back on for me, won't you? I want to look my best for our special guests tonight."

"Special guests?" the girl asked as she tied the mask back on.

"Oh yes," Reaver chuckled, pulling the girl up as soon as she finished and holding her against his side. "It seems as though a few of our lovely rebel friends will be joining us, including their naive leader, Page. Not to mention," the dark man laughed and began taking long steps toward the door, "the younger brother of our beloved king Logan, the rebel prince!"

XxX

"Madams and gentle sirs," Reaver announced as he waltzed to the top of his staircase, "I welcome you to the grandest masquerade Albion has seen since, well since my last party." He winked at the chortles and clapping that began to rise among his guests, then spun Lily out into full view. "Also, I am pleased to present my personal guest of honor this evening, the beautiful miss Lily of Los Angeles!"

Lily tried a small smile and curtsey as the crowd clapped politely for her. Surveying the crowd she could tell the general populous were already drunk, and the individuals who weren't were feeding their intoxication as quick as they could. Among the shielded faces were masks that resembled exaggerated features in every way, from noses to eyes to mouths and cheekbones. Occasionally there was a mask that resembled an animal, such as a horse or chicken. The masks that Lily noticed the most, however, were the odd mask shaped like the faces of vicious wolves. The people wearing them seemed to prowl through the crowd instead of mingle, and every one had sparkling black eyes fixed on her as she and Reaver began to descend the staircase.

"Reaver," she whispered at the tall man beside her.

"Yes?"

"Who are those people in the wolf masks?"

"Ah, you noticed. Yes, those fine fellows and females are members of an elite secret society comprised of my closest friends and companions. You may notice they fail to speak very much, well," he chuckled, "That is what helps me to enjoy their companionship."

Lily laughed a little, then closed her mouth in a tight line when one of the wolf masks came very close and scraped its nose across her shoulder. "Excuse me," she said sternly, pulling her arm away.

The masked person seemed to snarl at her before turning quickly and disappearing into the crowd.

"I can see why you like them," Lily clipped to Reaver. "They seem quite tacit. The masks fit them well."

"Softly, Lily," Reaver chuckled. "You may find that they also have appetites to match their faces."

"That's... disturbing." Lily wrinkled her nose and brushed past a person with massive eyebrows. "And these people are your closest friends?"

"Indeed they are. Now up you go."

"Wha-" Lily yelped as she was suddenly lifted onto a small seat attached to two chains and hauled swiftly into the air. "Reaver!" she yelled angrily. "What the hell is this about?"

"Why it is your first time at one of my parties, is it not, my dear Lily?" he called up teasingly. "This is a part of your initiation! Be a love and play along, won't you? I am going to find a drink. Tatty bye!"

"Reaver!" Lily shrieked, jumping to a standing position in the chair. "Get back here!"

"Oi! The lass ain't wearin' any underthings!"

Lily turned a shameful shade of pink and gathered her skirts as people began to gather en-mass beneath her. "God damn it, I knew I should have worn panties. Damn that Reaver..."

"Give us a peek!"

"Do a little turn for us darlin'!"

"Go on, get on with it!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Lily shouted crossly.

"Dance for us!"

"Strip tease!"

"Lower yer legs a bit!"

"Show us more skin!"

Lily frowned and crouched on the seat. "So basically I'm supposed to entertain these fuckers," she growled, putting her forehead in one hand. "I'm going to kill that man." She peeked back down beneath her and was stunned to see that the whole party was gathered down there, shouting at her all sorts of obscene things they wanted to see. Directly beneath her were about seven of the wolf masks, staring silently.

The wolves gave her an idea. She crouched into a feral position, lunging and snarling softly at the audience, licking her lips with relish. She bared her teeth and lashed out at a plump young man with her hands hooked into the shape of claws. "Grrr," she growled loudly, snarling at the people beneath her. "Come a little closer, my pets, and I will feast on your flesh!"

"A wolf!" one of the younger guests in a chicken mask crowed. "She should be a wolf!"

"A wolf!" "A wolf!" the audience clamored in agreement. Hands suddenly shot into the air, snatching at the girl's limbs and dress eagerly.

"Stoppit!" Lily yelled, withdrawing further up onto the seat. To her dismay the seat began to lower into the crowd with a slow certainty. She shrank further away from their grabbing hands, holding onto the chain until her knuckles were white.

As she descended into the crowd, several pairs of strong, steely hands seized her and began pulling her through the crowd, seven hard, bony bodies shielding her from the rest of the party.

"Let me go!" she yelled, trying to pull away from the savage strength of her captors. "I'm warning you, you had better let me go!"

A black and silver wolf face turned toward her and a loud, nasty snarl emitted from the fanged mouth. The black-haired girl shut her mouth and gulped, rolling her eyes as she tried to see past the hard bodies encompassing her.

Suddenly her back hit the top of a table and she looked up to realize she was in Reaver's study, still surrounded by all of the party goers. She sat up and tried to leap away, but the wolves seized her and pushed her back down onto the table, holding her steady.

The silver-faced wolf stepped forward and stroked her chin with a claw-tipped finger. "You will make a magnificent member," he hissed, pushing up the mask slightly to reveal a large, slitted mouth with sharp teeth. "Surely master Reaver will be pleased when we present him to you again as a completed creature..."

"Stop," Lily said, trying to jerk her arms away, but the masked people holding her were too strong. "What are you planning to do?" she asked demandingly, staring down the silver-faced wolf. "Put a mask on me and make me drink blood?"

"Oh no," the silver wolf chuckled, pulling the mask all the way off his face, "nothing quite so boring." He had pure silver hair and glittering black eyes that shone like jets. His wide mouth curled into a vicious smile that revealed dozens of sharp, irregular teeth and made his blunt nose wrinkle like a dog's snout. He leaned forward and dragged his rough tongue across Lily's neck, chuckling deep in his throat.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed, jerking an elbow up as hard as she could and catching him in the jaw. The sharpness of his jawbone thudded into her arm, making it ache instantly, and making the silver-haired wolf grab her arm and force it down ferociously.

"I'm making you perfect," he chuckled, nicking her skin with his sharp nails. Blood ran freely from his arm and all the wolves around the table began to growl quietly in their throats.

Lily jerked when she saw them all bare their teeth from within their masks and the silver-haired one leaned in for her throat, his hot breaths blowing on the white skin in rapid succession. He drew in a long, rasping gasp of air, then began to scrape his teeth across her throat...

"What in Avo's name is going on in here?"

The room went from a screaming roar to a sudden, startled hush.

"Reaver!" Lily cried, twitching to one side carefully to avoid being nicked by the sharp teeth. "Your guests are attacking me!"

The tall strode leisurely through the crowd, stopping next to the table and bending down to investigate the scene between his two guests. "My, my, what have we here?"

"Reaver..." Lily growled, twitching uncomfortably beneath the silver wolf's teeth.

"Mercy me, you're not trying to maul another one, are you my dear Frederick? I thought I properly chastised you the last time."

The silver wolf looked up with a snarl, then cowed beneath Reaver's cold stare. He backed off quickly, releasing Lily and slipping his mask back over his face. "Forgive me master, but she should be made to join us."

"Oh?" Reaver smiled at the masked man. "I believe the rule is a guest can only be forced to join a group of masks of he or she is not themselves wearing one." One of his long arms snaked out and pulled Lily to his side with a graceful sweep, and his black-gloved hands stroked the mask on her face gently. "As you can all see, she already has a mask, thus he does not need to join any of you."

"Then why'd yew make 'er go on the swing if'n she ain't supposed to join any of us?" a loud voice demanded.

Reaver chuckled, not even bothering to face the voice. "Because I thought the lot of you would enjoy the entertainment of seeing the under parts of the exquisite little flower."

A loud ripple of chuckles went through the crowd, and a bolder hand reached out to lift Lily's skirt for a brief moment, much to the agreement of the eagerly watching crowd.

Lily slapped the hand away and leaned back against Reaver, wrapping her hands backwards around his neck and sliding her foot up his thigh. She smiled charmingly at the people around her, then turned suddenly and slipped her leg around the tall man's waist, sliding down slowly to crumple delicately at his feet. She leaned her head back and gave the crowd an upside-down smile. "If all you lot wanted was a show, you should have just told me."

Reaver grinned broadly, then made a laughing noise of surprise when she stood and pushed him suddenly into a chair in front of the fireplace. "Easy, love," he growled when she hopped onto his lap, swaying her hips enticingly.

The crowd cheered loudly as Lily began to laugh and give Reaver a vigorous lap dance. "Look at 'er go!" "She's a natural!" "Gee, I wouldn't mind a little dance like that m'self!"

Reaver smiled and ran a hand up her waist. "My my, the little flower has bloomed."

She scowled at him before shoving his face into her bosom. "Hush you detestable man. I'm having a word with you when this is over."

"Just relax and enjoy yourself,you little fuss bucket," Reaver chuckled, holding her hips as they swirled around his lap. "Besides, you seem to be the star of my party tonight."

Lily peeked over her shoulder and smiled charmingly at the roaring crowd. "Seems so, doesn't it?" She bared her teeth and snapped at the crowd, waving her ass at them and letting out a little sexy howl.

Reaver laughed and shook his head. "Strange little thing..."

Lol, that was fun. Hopefully the next chapter will be just as exciting, if not more so!

Spoiler: The next chapter is the second half of the masquerade and the aftermath... so pretty much what you expected.


	14. Those Cute Snub Snouts

Chapter fourteen, and it promises to be exciting! Here is the second half of the masquerade I told you I would write, and good god, I wrote it fast. Two chapters in one night! Midnight inspiration does wonders.

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Language, strong alcohol use, a little bit of blood and gore at the end, and Barry murder. If you love Barry as much as I do, don't get too sad just yet. He's not dead, just sleeping! In a pool of his own blood...

Chapter 14: Those Cute Snub Snouts

The party had subsided significantly, leaving the masked guests sprawled in every corner of every room of the house. An exhausted Lily stepped carefully through a heap of unconscious men and women marinating in a puddle of alcohol. "Disgusting," she hissed, lighting a cigarette. She noticed a heap of skirts and bodices piled in a lush chair. With a sigh she walked over and poked a limb protruding from the unsightly heap.

A groan and a tiny roll of giggles emerged from the chair and Reaver suddenly emerged covered in lipstick and face paint. He shook his head and squinted at Lily, then reached out and took the cigarette from her. After taking a deep drag he looked up at her and smiled widely. "Can I help you?"

She smirked and kicked one of the skirted creatures off of the chair to make room for herself. "Not really. I'm just exhausted."

He chuckled as she crawled over the limbs covering him and curled up against his chest. "Nap while you can, the night isn't over yet."

Her eyes widened and she sat up to look at him. "You must be joking. It's so late! And everyone is unconscious!"

He shrugged and leaned back into the heap of bending legs and torsos, heavily smoking the dwindling cigarette. "Yes, but we are waiting for some very important guests to arrive for the main affair of the evening."

Ten wolf masks rose up silently from the heaps of bodies suddenly and silently stared at them. Lily shrank back, still disturbed by the silent, creeping people under the frightening masks.

Reaver just waved a hand at them and shook his head. "Not yet, my pets. Not until our late night guests arrive."

The wolves nodded silently and shrank back into their individual piles of bodies, disappearing from sight again.

"Those guys freak me out," Lily muttered, pulling out another cigarette for herself and lighting it with the tip of her finger. "So when are your special guests going to get here?"

A weary and red-eyed Barry Hatch wandered in, then bowed. "Mastah Weavah, our final guests have awwived."

Reaver chuckled and extracted himself from the tangle of bodies, lifting Lily to take her with him. "They've just arrived, my pet. Come, let's go show them a good time, shall we?"

Lily smiled and puffed on her cigarette, watching uneasily as the ten wolf masks rose silently from the piles of bodies again. "Jesus, those guys are creepy..."

"Think nothing of it," Reaver said, pulling her close to him and offering her a bottle of liquor from his coat pocket. "Just relax, and let's enjoy our new guests."

The twelve quickly made their way into the dining room, taking a door on the left across from that which led to Reaver's bedroom. From there they went up a flight of stairs and made two rights before ending up on a balcony above a large, round room with a gold wheel in the middle.

"Reaver?"

"Yes love?"

"What's that wheel for?"

"Oh, you shall see soon enough."

Lily sighed and took a drink from the bottle Reaver had given her, grimacing at the strength of the alcohol inside. _Whatever Reaver has in mind for these guests,_ she thought, _it doesn't seem too pleasant. Glad I'm on his __side and not theirs._

A huge black cage suddenly lurched down from hanging higher up on the ceiling, making Lily jump back with surprise. She frowned, then gasped lightly when she saw a young man trapped inside, looking very dizzy and confused. "Reaver! What the hell?"

"Just part of the fun, my pet. You'll see."

Suddenly a pair of footsteps sounded in the round room and two figures came striding out of the door in front of and beneath them. One was a black woman with a fox mask, a ridiculous tall, white wig, and big brown eyes that immediate glared up at them with a venom not natural for a living creature. The other was a young man who was wearing a black bandit mask across his tan face, his messy gold hair falling over it in a tangle. He looked up, his blue eyes revealing confusion behind the wide mask, and carefully placed his hand on the handle of his sword when he saw the dangling cage.

Lily couldn't help but smile at the earnest looks in their eyes. They looked like real heroes through and through.

"There's one of my men!" the black woman exclaimed, darting forward to grab hold of the cage. "Kidd! Are you alright?"

Lily leaned forward to get a better look, but Reaver pushed her back with his cane. "In a moment," he said quietly. "Let's not spoil the surprise."

The man in the cage banged on the bars, trying to drive the two away. "Get out, now!"

The woman shook her head and pushed her face against the bars. "Where are the others?"

The man trembled and wrung the bars unhappily. "All dead," he moaned. "Reaver knew you'd come. He's been waiting for you!"

Lily looked up at Reaver's face to see a highly amused smirk plastered there. _I know that look,_ she thought worriedly. _That's the look when he's about to have a lot of fun with a new toy. Oh god, I kind of hope those people gain their senses and get out of here..._

"What-" the woman said when suddenly the cage pulled away from her hands.

The young man sprang forward and seized the cage determinedly. "I'll get him out," he said, hanging on as well as he could.

At that moment Reaver strode into the room, swinging his cane gleefully. "My, my, my! More busy little bees here to steal Reaver's honey. So industrious, so committed... So bloody annoying." He grinned at Lily who scampered to his side and watched the cage rise, the young man hanging on valiantly. "When will you people learn to enjoy life?"

The woman shook her fist at him. "I'll enjoy killing you, does that count?"

Lily snarled instinctively, but Reaver ignored her. "Oh, you're just full of spunk, aren't you? A true heroin... you must be lightning under the bed-sheets..." At this, Reaver leaned down and planted a sucking kiss on Lily's neck, growling as if hungry with anticipation. "And now, as promised, the evening's piece de la resistance... Another piece of the resistance!"

The wolf masks chuckled as he bent down and pulled a great black lever back with a "viola!" just in time for the young man to fall to the ground next to his companion.

"Reaver," Lily asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's happening?"

"All in due time, little Lily," he purred, his eyes glowing with dangerous excitement. He waved jovially at the man in the cage as he came to eye-level with them, then directed his attention back down below. "Do try to put on a good show for my guests, won't you?"

"Show?" the woman spat furiously. "You expect us to entertain you?"

"I know the feeling, sister," Lily said with a quiet laugh, earning an appreciative nudge from Reaver.

"But of course!" Reaver purred, stepping forward to examine his prey more closely. "It's just a game, my little sweet." He gestured at the gold wheel beneath him, his cheshire grin in full form. "The wheel of misfortune! It's rather simple. I spin, you die, we watch. Really, it's... it's a riot!" Two taps of his cane on the floor and the wheel began to turn loudly, coming to a halt on a grotesque little face. Reaver chortled in delight. "Why, no less than the most unsightly, most obnoxious creatures ever to contaminate this world! Shoo!" With that he turned, laughed out loud and swept Lily with him out of the room and down a corridor to the left.

"What's happening?" Lily asked breathlessly.

"Weren't you listening?" Reaver laughed. "It's a game! A game of death!"

Lily pushed herself away from him and scowled. "Why do you want to kill them?"

"Why?" he growled dangerously, backing her onto another balcony in a room filled with pits and stone bridges. "Well because they steal from me, and they seek to defy our king! They are just annoying little bugs that need exterminating." He laughed and planted a vicious kiss on her mouth, cutting the inside of her lip with his sharp teeth. He pulled back and grinned, wiping the blood from his lips. "Do try and enjoy yourself, this is a party, after all."

Lily sucked on her bleeding lip nervously and gazed down into the strange room, secretly hoping that the two strange freedom fighters would make it through the game alright.

Reaver had left to whisper something to his servant, Barry, but burst back into the room just after the two fighters had entered the arena. He threw out his hands in a grand gesture, his face wreathed with pleasure. "You will laugh, you will cry, you will have your sinews gnawed upon! Bring out the hobbes!"

XxX

Several exhausting rounds of fighting later and the young pair were looking ready to drop. As the two ran back into the main round room, the young man saluted Reaver and Lily with an insolent gesture of his sword, making Reaver pull his mouth into a tight white line. "Bloody little revolutionaries," he muttered, wiping a speck of sand from his sleeve.

Lily put an arm around his, looking up into his face. "They've fought well."

"A little too well," he growled, watching as the two chattered quietly and shared health potions in the center of the room. "I'm a bit surprised they have survived this long." He tilted his head back and grinned widely. "I have no opinion of the little dark beauty, she seems like a pretty shoddy, ordinary little creature, but that boy is something else."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, wrinkling her brow.

"I will tell you in a bit, my enchanting little flower. For the moment, let us bring our entertainment back to their task." He stalked forward and peered over the edge of the balcony, commanding their attention. "You holier-than-thou idealists, always thinking in the simplest, most binary of ways. But I quite agree, this game grows tiresome, and my guests, they grow..." he chuckled darkly, "... restless."

Barry turned to a mask-less beauty who had removed the wolf face a long time ago. He gave her a winning smile and stepped closer to her. "No need to gwow westless sweetheart, Barry Hatch is here to take care of ye'. Fancy a quick jig?"

Lily wrinkled her nose and turned away as the red-headed servant gave the woman a bump in the rear and a small spin. "Disgusting man," she hissed, peeking up at Reaver. He seemed to be staring down the wolves around him, giving the occasional nod as his servant flirted with the lovliest of the lot.

The wheel beneath them clattered and banged as it landed on the symbol of what looked like a demonic cat head. Lily tugged Reaver's sleeve, about to ask him what it was, but was startled by a disturbing growl behind her.

Barry was blissful in his flirtation, not noticing the change in the woman he was holding. "You're a wough one, ain't ye? I wike that in a woman. You're just... uh, what... no, no, Weavah help! Nooo- AUGH!"

Lily yelped and leapt behind Reaver as the creature that had once been a woman turned and sprang on the unfortunate man, ripping into his chest with huge, razor-sharp teeth. "Oh my god!" she gasped, lightly grasping Reaver's sleeve. "What-"

"Oh dear," Reaver lamented, stepping away to avoid a shower of blood. "Do you brutes have any idea how hard it is to find good staff?"

"Reaver, help him!"

"He will be fine, my dear," Reaver tutted, scraping a finger over the girl's chin. "Don't fret. Now hush, and let's enjoy the show, shall we? What's the use of a secret society without a little secret, after all..."

Lily was pulled away from the creatures as they reared back, spotting the two figures in the center of the round room. They snarled and vaulted off of the balcony, circling their prey carefully.

"What are they?" she asked, hugging his arm a little tighter.

The tall man patted her head gently. "They're called balverines, my little Lily. Some fiendish mix between wolf, human, and utter monster. Such magnificent beasts... the strength, the power, the cute snouts..." he chuckled at his comment. "You're actually rather lucky." He winked down at her. "If Frederick had gone through with that bite earlier this evening you would be joining them down there."

Lily blanched. "They- what?"

"When bitten and not quite killed, the victim is forced to transform into one of the hideous monsters." Reaver tilted his head back and smiled before stepping forward to survey the battlefield beneath them. Already two of the monsters lay dead and the vigilantes were fighting as hard as they did at the beginning of the game. He frowned crossly. "I do believe they are going to survive this. How wonderfully unexpected."

Lily peeked forward, then ducked back as a stray bullet whistled over her head. Reaver winked at her and chuckled. "Careful, darling."

Below all but one of the balverines lay dead, and the young man was sheathing his weapon. "This is the last party I'm taking you too-"

"Look out!" the woman roared as a balverine reared up behind him. Quick as lightening she pulled her gun and shot the creature in the chest, killing it for good.

The room was hushed for a few moments, the two on the ground catching their breath as the two above stared at them. Then Reaver sighed and gestured with his cane nonchalantly. "Well, I must say, you've made me out to be a somewhat poor host. Rather rude of you to dispose of all my guests." He pulled Lily under his arm almost protectively, his calm stature not revealing the fact that his muscles were tightly coiled and ready to spring at them in a moment's notice.

"Now it's your turn Reaver!" the woman declared, raising her gun and pointing it directly at Reaver.

Lily flinched away when the gun fired, expecting Reaver to be hit by the sharp-shooter. To her surprise, he simply raised his cane and deflected it easily, knocking it back down to their feet where it rolled away harmlessly. Lily sighed with relief and hugged him.

"You don't think I would let them hurt you, my little sweet?" Reaver purred into her hair, before facing the two on the floor again. "Oh, my dear girl, why not stop all this bickering? The four of us could go up to my quarters and have a private party."

Lily giggled at the outraged look on the woman's face and the surprised and confused look on the young man's.

"Do you have any idea who this is?" the dark woman shrieked, her voice harsh. "It's Logan's brother, the prince!"

"The king's brother, a boena fide hero?" Reaver said with a knowing smile, tapping Lily gently on the shoulder. "Well, I wouldn't dream of coming between siblings. Well, that's not strictly true, there was that time..." he turned, chuckling, pulling Lily out of the room with him as he dismissed the two entirely. "Anyway, best of luck with this whole revolutionary lark. Perhaps we'll meet again someday. Tatty-bye!"

The woman's pistol went off again and the sound of splintering wood met the ears of the two as they wandered out of the room, just in time for Lily to gasp and stumble slightly.

Reaver hauled her up as the door shut behind them, looking down at her. "Something wrong, pet?"

She glared and shook her head. "No, nothing."

He shrugged and continued walking, stopping after a few paces to turn and watch her struggle toward him. "Darling, you best tell me what's ailing you, or I'll leave you here to whatever balverines might still be living."

"My leg," Lily spat, sitting down and pulling up her skirt. A bright red stream of blood gushed from an offending wound in the white skin, glaring at them offensively.

Reaver strode to her, taking advantage of his long legs, and knelt quickly, looking at the wound. "Bloody hell," he swore, picking her up none-so-tenderly and carrying her quickly toward his quarters. Instead of taking the way they had come from he took a passage behind a tapestry that dumped them out behind the dresser in his pleasure chamber.

Lily shivered at the red stone room, then yelped when he dropped her on a wooden table that boasted six pairs of manacles. "Reaver," she said, but he silenced her with a wave of his hand, rummaging through the dresser. He pulled out a fine pair of striped boxers, shrugged and ripped them into strips. "I hope nobody will be looking for these someday, because they're ruined now." He knelt in front of her, inspecting the wound more closely. "Do you still have that bottle?"

Lily held it up, revealing that it was still mostly full. "Yes."

"You may want to take a few swigs out of it. That bitch caught you in the leg with her bullet and the chunk of it is still in there. There might be some wood stuck in too." He looked up at her, then stood. "I'll have to pull it out, then I will prop you up in my bed and call the doctor."

"I'm not hurt that bad," Lily snarled, trying to hop off the table. As soon as her injured leg hit the floor she collapsed in a fit of screaming, blinding pain.

Reaver watched her, his hands on his hips, then shook his head and placed her back on the table. "Now, have you learned your lesson? Stay put."

She scowled at him with her wrist stuffed in her mouth to stop her screaming and tears running down both cheeks. When he brought out a pair of pliers and a small, sharp knife, she quickly pulled her now-bleeding wrist away from her teeth and brought the bottle to her lips, gulping as quickly as she could.

Reaver chuckled and knelt in front of her, examining the wound. He tied a long strip of the boxers right beneath her knee to deter blood flow and carefully brought the knife toward the wound.

"Wait!" Lily cried.

"What?" he glared up.

She held out her arms, her face already pink from the alcohol she had suddenly consumed. "Kiss me first."

He smiled and raised himself slightly, planting a gentle kiss on her moist lips. "If there's any left, you may want to finish it," he whispered into her ear, dropping down to her leg again.

Lily took another gulp from the bottle, watching him nervously as he brought the knife to her leg. She stuffed her wrist in her mouth again when the steel pierced her skin, sending another wave of pain up her leg. The feeling of the pain surprised her however. It wasn't burning and blinding like the bullet wound, it was cold and piercing. She could feel the metal blade moving through her flesh, slicing her open as it went.

Reaver looked up when a drop of blood hit the floor beside him and saw two rivulets of blood running down her arm from her hand stuffed into her mouth. He reached up and took the hand out of her mouth, replacing it with a folded piece of cloth. He then quickly wrapped the bleeding hand and placed it in her lap before returning to her leg.

He wasn't sure how deep the bullet had gone in, so he had to keep cutting deeper into her leg, following the hole and trying to avoid major arteries, muscles and tendons. _At least she's holding still,_ he thought, twitching when a drop of blood flew at his face and hit his cheek. Finally he found the bullet, snugly lodged against the back of her shin bone. _Avo, it's amazing she didn't pass out from a wound like this._ He looked up at her pale face, seeing nothing but seething anger and a tiny drop of sweat running down her left temple. "Almost done, love," he said softly, using the pliers to carefully dislodge the bullet. Luckily it was only resting against the bone, not embedded in it. He sighed with relief when he finally pulled it out, tossing it onto the floor next to him and quickly going to work to close the wound.

Lily looked down while he tightly wrapped the wound, pulling the cloth out of her mouth. "Are you going to stitch it?"

"No love, I'm leaving that to the doctor."

She grimaced when he pulled a knot tighter, then reached out and put a hand on his head, the drunkenness fully setting in. "Reaver?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know how to do that?"

"Lily, I've lived for three hundred years." He stood and picked her up with a sweeping motion, smiling charmingly. "I've had my fair share of wounds like that, and I had to operate on myself. You are quite the lucky little Lily."

She smiled and hugged him, pointing at the door. "Take me to bed!"

XxX

The doctor stood from examining the sleeping Lily, wiping this bloody hands on a dark colored towel. "Well, she's in relative good condition. Luckily the bullet didn't seriously damage any of the muscles and there aren't any serious blood veins damaged, so I think she will be alright."

Reaver nodded, glaring at the large dark red stain that had spread across his lighter-red bed. "That is good, I suppose."

"Yes, very good. She's lucky you patched her up and took the bullet out, or she might have bled out before I could have gotten here." The doctor put the rag back into his pocket and took a step toward Reaver. "By the way, would you happen to have that bullet with you?"

Reaver pulled it out of his pocket and cast it on the floor beside the man. "There it is, and keep it if you fancy a souvenir."

The doctor picket it up and examined it, then turned a peculiar shade of red. "Ha-hem, you may want to have this examined by an alchemist."

"Why?" Reaver demanded, turning his hard gaze on the man.

He faltered and nearly dropped the bullet. "Well, some people like to infuse their bullets with a poisonous compound, to assure that even if it is a minor wound, it will still kill."

Reaver growled and ran a hand through his hair. "Take it to the alchemist for me and be back here with the results before tomorrow evening. If she is poisoned and dies before you return," he suddenly reached out and seized the man by the collar of his shirt, "you will die a death more horrible than any mortal has ever imagined in the history of existence."

The doctor stumbled back when he was released and brushed himself off. "I understand, master Reaver. So you seem to fancy this girl, eh?"

Reaver pinned him with a glare, then turned a gentler gaze back toward her. "Oh, it's nothing like that. She is just an important investment to me, and I like to keep her safe. Let us say, if she were to be damaged or die I would be in a bit of a sticky spot." He glared at the doctor again. "That is why you will leave this instant to get that wretched clod of metal examined for poison, you useless lazy lump!"

The doctor bowed, then scurried out of the room as fast as he could.

"R-Reaver."

The man groaned internally at the sound of the weary, drunken voice. He sighed and began removing his clothes, wondering if the sun was up yet or not. "Yes?"

"Do you mean that?"

He turned to look at her face which was in the midst of a powerful pout. "Lily..."

"Don't, 'Lily' me," she snapped, sitting up a little bit. He could see from the way she wavered that she was still drunk.

"Lily, go to sleep."

"Am I just an investment?"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "My dear, you are important to me, in the sense that I surrendered my wife for you. In what way does that make you just an investment?" He ripped off his shirt and trousers and crawled into the bed next to her. "Hm?"

She shrugged and looked at the bedsheets quietly. "What kind of sticky spot would you be in if I were to die?"

"O, for the love of..." he whirled and caught her in his arms, careful not to move her leg, and pressed several kisses onto her face. "The sticky spot of losing someone I don't want to lose, understand?"

Her eyes fluttered for a moment, then she smiled and relaxed. "Okay. I trust you."

"I have no idea why," he muttered, stretching out next to her so she could lay her head on his chest. "Foolish little creature. I should have had a balverine eat you."

She pushed him slightly, then closed her eyes to sleep. "Sorry for causing you so much trouble. That's all I've done since I arrived."

He shrugged. "I don't blame you, little one. I blame that wretched, disgusting, foul, meddling old hag, Theresa!"

The gentle voice chimed in both their ears, "careful Reaver..."

He snorted and pulled Lily more comfortably onto his chest. "Anyway, you're tired and injured. Go to sleep and try to heal up, I'll wake you for breakfast."

"G'night, Reaver," she mumbled sleepily.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, my Lily."

Uh-oh, it looks like Reaver might be in a little trouble. Oh well, Lily won't remember in the morning... or will she? Duh-duh-duhhhnnn...

Anyhoo, that was lots of fun to write, and yes I went and had a Mary Sue moment when I had Lily shot in the leg. Sue me, but I love wounding my characters, and Lily is hilarious when she's hurt because she thinks she's invincible (typical teenager... even though she's supposed to be twenty-three...).

By the way, I apologize for cutting out the hobbe, merc, and sand fury rounds. Originally they were in there, but they were just too damn long... I apologize, mostly for cutting the Barry/Reaver dialog in the background. So for all the Barry fans, here's something extra:

"I actuawlly find hobbes wather sexy. I wike a big mouwth. In fact, I wequire it..."

Lol... I love Barry. I will avenge you my cute little red-head!

Spoiler: Yeah, Lily is gonna be recovering from her leg wound (quickly because she's a hero and I don't want to slow the story down too much), Reaver is going to teach her how to shoot, and Theresa is going to try and teach her a little more magic. The raise dead spell will be in there somewhere because I friggin' loved that spell! Unfortunately there will be a significant decrease in Lily abuse because she is injured... sorry everyone.


	15. Morning Tidings

Chapter fifteen... finally... is up. I apologize for the wait and for the lack of excitement in this chapter. I've been busy with school and whatnot so I've been having trouble finding time or getting motivated to write in this. But I still am, and I hope it's not too late... so yeah, enjoy!

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Language, nudity, angst... but other than that this chapter is pretty clean... I'm surprised with myself, but it's hard to throw your character into explicit situations when she's propped up in bed and can't move...

Chapter 15: Morning Tidings

Lily's eyes creaked open and before she took her first waking breath she let rip a stream of curses that would put the hardest sailor to shame.

The long, lean man next to her let his eyes drift open and stared blearily at the chest next to his bed as the tirade continued, then rolled over and silenced the rambling girl with a hard, irritated kiss. "Shut up," he growled, leaning back into the bed.

She blinked several times, then let out a loud groan. "My leg feels like it's on fire."

Reaver sat up and pulled the blankets away from her, distantly remembering what the doctor had said about poisoned bullets. He grimaced at the sight of the blood-crusted bandage on her leg and sighed. "Stay still while I change the bandage."

Lily moved to sit up as he crawled out of the bed, but was forced back down by his entire body crouching suddenly over her.

"What did I say?" he growled.

She gulped, then tried a smile. "Um, I just wanted a better vantage point before you put your clothes on."

He stared at her, then sighed and slid off of the bed again. "Then say so next time and I will move you myself. Just lay there and don't try to do anything, understand?"

Lily glared at him. "I'm not completely disabled, you know. If I got a pair of crutches I could probably hobble around or-"

"Absolutely not," Reaver clipped, pulling fresh linen dressings from a drawer. He quickly cut the stained ones away from her leg with a slender black knife and examined the wound. To his surprise it looked clean and sterile, the light bleeding due to the bandages being removed. "Intriguing..." he mused quietly.

"What?" Lily asked, shifting again to try and see for herself.

"Tut!" Reaver said sharply, wagging a finger at her. "I would prefer not to strap you down, as amusing as that might be."

Lily growled and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Then tell me how my leg looks."

He bandaged it quickly and snugly, grinning at her. "Remarkably like what a hero wound should look like."

"What the hell does that mean?"

He sighed and stood, brushing his hair to one side with his slender fingers. "It means it is healing as quickly as it should be, given your hero blood." He sat on the bed next to her and glanced down at her partially exposed breasts. "You should be up and active in less than a week."

Lily smiled and sat up a little more. "Then can I-?"

"No, you may not get up," Reaver chuckled, giving her a weary grin.

Lily frowned. "Are you alright? You seem... off."

He glanced over at her, then smiled and chuckled quietly. "I'm perfectly fine, little one. Last night was just... draining. Plus, I'm afraid I've got a bit of a hangover." He placed a hand on his forehead and sighed.

Shifting her leg with a grimace, Lily sat up a little further and put a hand on his shoulder. "Is that all?"

He glanced at her through the corners of his eyes, blinking often.

"Did... did you have the nightmare again?"

The tall man stiffened slightly, then let his head droop toward his lap. "Yes."

Lily pulled on his arm. "Then get your sad butt over here so I can hug you."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"If you don't come over here, then I'm moving over there."

He sighed and took her hand, folding it between both of his. "That's alright, I much prefer not to be hugged at the moment." His dark eyes rolled up to stare at the canopy hanging above the bed. "It's... strange."

"What is?" Lily wrinkled her forehead in concern.

"It's more... difficult to watch now," he said in low tones. "It hurts more... to look at her face, and to know I could have saved her. But I didn't, and for what?"

Lily sat back. His words hurt, but she understood. If it had come to a choice for her, to choose between this man and her brother, she would choose her brother every time. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Maybe you'll get another chance."

"No," Reaver said with a shake of his head. "No, this time, she's gone for good." He turned his head and stared side-ways at the black-haired girl in his bed.

Lily tried to smile, but couldn't. "I'm sorry."

He just stared at her, then stood and pulled a silky red robe around him. "I'll go inquire about breakfast."

The injured girl slumped back into the bed and sighed. She reached out and grabbed for her pack of cigarettes, then set them back down and closed her eyes.

XxX

Lucy the maid looked up, her face flushing as the tall master of the house wandered into the kitchen. She instantly noted the pale, hazard look in his face and sprang lightly to attention. "Good morning, master Reaver!" she said in a bright, but hushed voice. "Did you have a long night."

"Yes, indeed," he said distantly, gazing down at her. She made to speak again but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. "Cut the chatter, if you please, I'm only here to say that my guest and I will be taking breakfast in my room for the next few days. Miss Lily was injured and I am requiring her to stay in bed for the week. I want you to be her personal servant, Lucy. Talk to her, play games, read her a book, I don't care, whatever the little twit wants."

Lucy smiled warily and curtseyed. "Yes sir. If you don't mind my asking, did the two of you have a fight?"

"I had a fight," Reaver said quietly, turning to leave, "but not with her."

"With who then?" Lucy called to him as he left.

He just waved her off with a lazy, "shoo."

Lucy stood still in the kitchen for a few moments, wondering why the brief interaction had left her so suddenly downtrodden. "Surely something happened between them," she said to herself, forcing her legs to lurch into movement. "I haven't seen the master this upset since the old Queen Sparrow died."

XxX

Lily cracked an eye open when the door to the room opened then shut again. She watched as the tall man stalked into the room, threw off his robe and gingerly laid down in the bed next to her. "That was fast," she muttered.

He chuckled and rolled over, resting his forehead on her shoulder. "There was nothing but noise down there. At least in my room there is some semblance of quite."

"Indeed."

"Now don't you ruin this tranquility with your noise, little one."

"I'm not."

"Ah, but you just did."

"You're making more noise than I am."

"True, but your noise is more abrasive."

"Oh m'god, did you suddenly become five years old?"

"Do you hear that? That noisy buzzing that sounds like a voice? By Avo, that is irritating."

"My god... the three-hundred year-old man is acting like a three year-old."

"There it is again! Bzzz bzzz bzzz, it's maddening!"

Lily sealed her lips into a tight line, closing her eyes in annoyance.

Reaver chuckled and took one of her hands. "I'm just teasing, my pet. You seem short-tempered at the moment, is something bothering you?"

"Are you batshit insane?" Lily demanded, her eyes snapping open to glare at him. "First you depress the shit out of me by moping over your dead girlfriend and telling me in the process that you would rather have saved her over me, then you come in here and start acting like a fucking five year-old! Yes, I'm short tempered, and yes something is bothering me! You wanna know what is bothering me? You!"

He leaned back, grinning strangely.

"What the hell are you grinning at, you ridiculous, retarded, riddled old man?"

"I'm not sure that was the correct context for the word, "riddled," my dear."

Lily shot up as much as her leg would allow, her face white with anger. "You- you pompous, arrogant, perverted old bastard! Would you stop acting like life is all just a game and people are pawns to be played with? We aren't all immortal, you know!"

"Do you want to be?" Reaver purred, suddenly reaching out and taking hold of her neck. "I know a way. You know the price, of course, but if you would like to live forever..."

"I would rather die a thousand horrible deaths than do what you did!" Lily snarled, jerking away from him.

He grinned toothily and, reaching underneath her, pulled her into his lap, taking special care to handle her leg gently. "Ah, there it is. The disgust, the loathing, the absolute horror in what I did Avo knows how many years ago." He kissed her hard, then pushed back her chin with two fingers to contemplate her delicate, white neck. "Every time it's the same. They all say they would never do what I did, that I am evil beyond comprehension. It used to bother me you know, especially when dear old Sparrow said it..." his smile faltered for a moment while he mused, then returned. He yanked her head back up by her hair, holding her face two inches from his own. "If that's what you think, then by all means, out and say it my good girl. I've heard it all before, all of the names, all of the curses and accusations and condemnations. Let me hear the very best of what your verbal arsenal has to offer me, my pretty little water lily."

She blinked at him, then swallowed and smiled a tiny smile. "I know you didn't mean to."

He frowned at her. "Eh?"

She nodded. "I was there, I know. It was an accident, and you didn't mean to kill any of them. Especially not her." The black-haired girl put her hands on either side of his head and kissed him gently. "I'm not accusing you of being evil, I'm just saying that I'm a little more informed than you were, and I personally would choose not to do what you did."

He set her down on the bed in front of him, glaring at her. "You aloof little creature," he said quietly, pulling away from her. "What do you have to lose in this new world?"

"Nothing," Lily said, wincing as she shifted positions. "And honestly, that's what scares me." She shrugged. "I don't know what the shadow court would try to take if I tried to bargain with them. They could take my entire world for all I know."

"And what would you have to lose there?" Reaver said, raising an eyebrow at her. "That's why you came here, no? Because of the fact that you had nothing."

Lily shrugged. "That doesn't mean I want my planet wiped out. That's just fucked up."

He chuckled and leaned back. "I suppose. You are quite the righteous little thing, aren't you?"

"I just don't like genocide, that's all." Lily smirked and laid down on the bed. "Can we be done bickering? This is pointless. Even if we hate each other, we are still going to have to be teacher and student."

Reaver grimaced. "I don't like to be reminded of that, but I suppose you are right."

"Excuse me?"

The two on the bed looked up as Lucy peeked in. She turned a bright shade of red when she saw the very naked Reaver draped across the bed, but entered bravely. "Um- uh, I brought your breakfast, like you asked, M-m-master Reaver."

He smirked and gestured at a clear spot on the bed. "Well don't be shy, bring it over here. Put it right there, that's a good gel." He reached out and took hold of her arm, pulling her in front of Lily. "My dear, this is your new best friend for the week. I trust the two of you have met?"

Lucy, who was now an unhealthy red color, nodded vigorously and held out her hand to Lily. "Yes, we've met. Um, pleased to see you again, miss Lily."

Lily smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm, I've met you. Good to see you too."

Lucy curtseyed and smiled. "Yes, well if that's all, if either of you need anything, please do not hesitate to call."

Lily blinked and the girl was gone faster than she thought was possible. "Reaver, you ought to stop terrorizing your servants."

"But that's absolutely no fun," he said with a faux pout, reaching for a scone.

"Runaway!"

The both of them twitched at the sound of the seer, Theresa's voice and looked for her around the room.

"Aye?" Lily called out, grimacing.

"Have you forgotten why I brought you here?"

"Actually, you never mentioned why you did in the first place, so yes and no," Lily said quickly, grabbing a bit of bread and some butter. "But I did find out that what you did violated some sort of contract Reaver here made and nearly got me killed. Nice going there. It's good to know that you're completely willing to throw a complete stranger into mortal danger at a whim."

The old woman suddenly appeared before them, her arms crossed in front of her body and her hooded face revealing a frown. "Have you found the guild seal yet?"

"Working on that," Lily mumbled through a mouth of food. "I'm kind of out of commission right now though, being shot in the leg and all. Patience is a virtue, remember?"

"Patience cannot be a factor here," Theresa said sternly. "As soon as your leg is healed I expect you to begin searching for the seal. I did not bring you here so you could fool around with this man, I brought you here to fulfill your destiny."

Lily smirked. "But it's my destiny, isn't it? I'll get around to it, but right now I'm just relaxing and having a bit of fun. So calm down, I'll do it, I just don't know when."

Theresa took a step forward but Reaver waved her off.

"Really now, Theresa, darling, you ought to leave the little snip alone. She said she'll do it, so rest assured, it will get done. Now off with you, the girl needs rest. Shoo!"

Theresa scowled, but faded away quickly.

Reaver rose and dressed, grabbing his cane and hat.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked over the rim of a cup of tea.

He leaned down and winked at her. "I'm feeling a touch restless. I think I'm going to pop into Bowerstone for a quick spell, maybe do a touch of shopping."

Lily shrugged and propped herself more comfortably on her pillows. "Okay, I guess. I'm just going to be bored as all hell."

"Oh, you'll have the servants to entertain you," Reaver chuckled, plucking a fat coin purse from one of his drawers. "And perhaps if you're a good girl and stay in bed, I'll bring you a little treat when I return."

Lily smirked. "I hope it's a condom."

Reaver chuckled. "Possibly, but probably not." He turned to waltz out of the room, waving fleetingly over his shoulder. "Tatty-bye!"

Lily sipped her tea and sighed. It was going to be a long day...

So... yeah, that was a little boring. I promise the next chapter will be better because it will have solo Reaver in Bowerstone and I just can't wait to abuse that... teeheehee...

Spoiler: Well... I don't really know... I'm hoping to fly through the week so that Lily can be on her feet again, and to have some completely necessary fun with Reaver and someone other than Lily (while he is in Bowerstone), but I can't actually promise anything yet. It's quite up in the air.


	16. The Deviant in Bowerstone

Here is Chapter Sixteen. Sorry for the wait, I have been without internet for quite a while now... it is irritating... and keeping me from doing important things... like sharing my fantasies with strangers... yup... Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy it!

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Language, as usual... but not a lot, surprisingly. This chapter is pretty much clean aaand... I finally get to introduce the sexy insomniac: King Logan! Yaaay! (epic fangirl squee)

Chapter 16: The Deviant in Bowerstone

A child of about seven played with a deflated ball in the mud, poking it with a stick and chortling at the squelching noises it made when it moved. Shifting to a more comfortable squatting position, the child was suddenly startled into falling onto it's bottom when a tall figure clad in black and white strode by. A woman in a bedraggled dress rushed from beating a rug to comfort the now-wailing child who had generous brown stains spotting its ragged clothes.

Reaver glanced back at the scene before pushing an adventurous strand of hair out of his sight. A grin and a muffled laugh proved his lack of remorse as he continued on, surveying in distaste the varied arrangements of edibles dotting the streets.

"This is why I dislike shopping in the industrial part of Bowerstone," he grumbled to himself, overturning a rancid chicken pie with disgust. "Absolute filth, that's all this place offers." He turned his bored eyes toward the local pub, curling his lips at the sight of several civilians lying drunk in the doorway. He sighed and headed toward the establishment anyway.

A haggard looking blonde looked up from wiping down a table, lighting up when she saw the tall man enter the building. "Master Reaver! Glad to see you back, sah! Will it be the usual, then?"

"Yes darling, but leave it in the bottle," Reaver said with a grin. "I'm taking it to go."

"Off to the nicer bits of Bowerstone?" The girl smiled wistfully as she searched under the bar. "Oh, I envy you. The last time I went up there I was fair chased out on the cause of my being so dirty."

Reaver winced internally at her poor english, but smiled all the same and excepted the bottle of rare liquor she handed him. "What absolute brutes," he quipped, throwing several coins onto the table and slipping one into her bodice. "Why if I found you in a fancy part of town I would dress you up and take you to a fine party." He winked as he began to take his leave. "Though it might be a private party, if you know what I mean, love."

The girl flushed and put a hand to her cheek. "Oh, you saucy cad! Off with you, before you run off with all the girls' hearts!"

Reaver laughed as he left the building, kicking one of the younger drunkards on his way out. "Shame for ignoring such a charmer in there," he scolded one of the unconscious ones. Taking a sniff and a sip out of the bottle, he chuckled at himself and continued up the road toward the finer parts of Bowerstone.

XxX

Lily smiled as calmly as she could as Lucy swept out of the room with the breakfast tray, then sighed and slumped into the bed. "I'm bored..."

XxX

Dark eyes turned toward the looming castle of Bowerstone as villagers scattered to avoid the tall, dark man stalking the streets. Occasionally he would pause to glance over the wares displayed in the streets before moving on with disinterest. Something glittered in the far corner of his eye and he turned to see a clothing display consisting of red, black and silver female garb. He raised an eyebrow an stopped to look at it. The top was a sheer black material that ended high up on the chest and clung to the form of the manikin, covered with a silver shawl that dangled from a thick red collar. The bottom was a flowing, black, showy skirt with tight grayish silver shorts and a long piece of red cloth that dangled in front of the private area.

Reaver lifted the red section of the skirt with his cane and chuckled at the easy-access it would allow him if a woman were wearing it. Without another thought he tossed a small bag of coins at the vendor. "Bring it to my mansion tomorrow morning for a fitting," he said, gesturing at the outfit.

The vendor nodded eagerly and began counting the coins as the tall man strode away twirling his cane and deciding he was in a better mood for the purchase.

"Master Reaver!" Two guards exclaimed in unison, striking stiff position. "Welcome back."

"Yes, yes," he muttered, striding past them into the gardens of the castle. He glared up at the elegant entrance and sighed. "The only residence in Albion that surpasses my own."

The door swung open in front of him and two maids in tiny black dresses curtseyed in front of him. "Welcome back, master Reaver!" they exclaimed, instantly leaping for his neck and wrapping themselves around him. "Would you like us to service you, or are you here to see the king?"

He chuckled and unhooked them from his neck, giving them both a generous tap on the butt. "I'm sorry, my darlings, but I am here to see the your grumpy old king. Would you kindly show me to him?"

They giggled and each took a hand to lead him toward the king's war room.

XxX

King Logan perused his map of Albion, tracing his fingers over the ridges of the mountains as he contemplated the borders of his land. His dark-ringed eyes glanced up as Reaver strode silently into the room and bowed to the monarch.

"My liege..."

"I've told you to call me Logan, Reaver."

Reaver glanced up from his bow and grinned. "I would call you sparrowling again before calling you without a title, my king."

The king's mouth twitched toward a smile, then creased back into a frown. "I always hated being called that."

"Perhaps," Reaver purred while standing up straight. "Your brother seemed not to mind it though..."

Logan swatted a cup of wine away with a gesture of fury. "My brother!"

"Have you heard anything of him?" Reaver asked respectfully, repressing a knowing grin.

Logan knelt and thrust his hands into his hair. "Nothing. Not a word or a whisper. How could he disappear without a trace?" The haggard man looked up. "Do you have news of my younger brother?"

"Maybe," Reaver said teasingly, leaning forward to rest his weight on his cane.

Logan stood and glared at him. "Do not test me, Reaver. My mother may have trusted you, but I do not, and I can have you executed for resisting your king."

"Trusted me, oh no," Reaver scoffed. "Your mother may have- ahem- rather enjoyed my presence- ahem- but I assure my highness, she did not trust me." He allowed himself a dark, reflective chuckle before continuing. "As to execution, yes well, you seem to be over-fond of those these days. I would not be surprised of my head were to end up on the chopper, but..." the tall man's eyes glittered dangerously, "you would find I am not an easy man to kill."

"Reaver," Logan stepped forward. "Tell me where my brother is. If you had any loyalty toward my mother or the crown of Albion you would tell me."

"Well I don't know where he is at the moment, but I recall the little scamp being at my mansion last night with one dark-skinned refuge I am sure you are well aware of."

Logan's eyes darkened with hate. "Page... that little minx whore. She has my brother?"

"Or he has her."

"No games, Reaver. Was he with her?"

"He was indeed, and they seemed to be working together."

"So my brother is in Bowerstone?"

"It would seem so."

Logan turned, clenching his hands into tight fists. "Back in Bowerstone, is he? I need to extend my eyes and ears again, or execute the worthless spies I'm using now. How is he in Bowerstone and not causing a stir? I would have heard something by now..."

"If I may..."

Logan turned and met the taller man's gaze. "You have an idea."

Reaver grinned. "I do."

The king nodded. "Speak it."

The deviant reached out to stroke the edge of the map, glancing around the room confidently. "I happen to be in possession of something your little brother, the prince, may take great interest in."

Logan frowned. "What would that be?"

Reaver winked at the young, weary king. "Something your brother needs: a hero."

XxX

Lily set down the book she was reading and scrunched her face up slightly. "Ah..."

Lucy peeked in. "Is everything alright ma'am?"

"Ah-"

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

"Ah-!"

"Are you in pain?"

"Ah-choo!" Lily quickly wiped her nose on her sleeve and glared at the servant. "No, I think I'm just a bit chilly. Would you get me a cup of tea?"

Lucy nodded eagerly. "Right away miss!"

The black-haired girl leaned back and frowned, then sneezed again. "Ah-choo! Oof... I hope I'm not getting a cold..."

XxX

Logan leaned his weight against the map table. "You think this will work?"

Reaver stood behind him and placed a heavy hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Positive. Your brother is gathering all the support he can get. How could he pass up a hero hand-selected by-"

"Understood." Logan said with a dismissive gesture. "I cannot coordinate something like that from here, however. You must do it for me." The young king turned to face Reaver. "Can I trust you with this?"

Reaver took a step back and bowed. "Anything for my king."

Logan allowed a small smile and pushed Reaver's shoulder to make him straighten. "None of that. You're a family friend, and a very valuable companion."

Reaver smiled and brushed a finger across the king's chin. "Indeed, I am. Aren't I?" He chuckled when the monarch flinched away from his finger. "Shall I take my leave, then?"

Logan nodded and turned back to his map. "Yes. I'm trusting you to handle this, Reaver. I want my brother back and this revolution quelled." He sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Honestly, I have more important things to worry about. Please, take care of this for me."

"Of course, my king," Reaver said softly, sweeping of his top hat for a bow. He turned to leave, placing the hat back on top of his head and closing the door quietly behind him.

He stopped for a moment to gaze at a portrait of the late queen Sparrow. "That Logan was always such an unhappy child," he mused toward the painting, touching the frame lightly. "You doted on him even though he was a little terror." He rubbed his chin ruefully. "Especially after the little wreck ruined my beard... but it convinced me to shave it off, and look at me now. I'm basically second in command here." He laughed and rested his hand on a section of the painted queen's arm. "You would have a fit if you saw your children behaving in such a way... especially Logan, treating your land the way he does. You would put that boy over your knee and beat the insomnia straight out of him." Reaver laughed and shook his head. "No matter. You're no more than a few dusty bones and I'll be damned if those re-animate. You stay in your grave, and I'm going home." He withdrew from the painting, slung his cane over his shoulder and walked out of the castle with long, quick strides.

Yay Logan! Yay!

Reaver: Dear, you seem to be very emphatic about that broody little child.

Me: You shut up and let me have my moment!

Reaver: Could it be you potentially like him more than myself?

Me: There is a high probability, and a higher probability that it will affect Lily in a very sexy way.

Reaver: *gun click*I was under the impression that she was mine.

Me: She is! For the moment...

Reaver: …

Me: … oh god... RUN AWAY!

Spoiler: Ummm... sexiness at Reaver's mansion while Lily gets better. It's gonna be fun.


	17. Healing Quickly

Wow, Chapter Seventeen already! I honestly didn't know I would go this far, and I haven't even started really shifting the story along! I hope people have the patience to read... Well, I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I did writing!

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Light language, but lots of sexiness. No actual sex, but... well you'll see.

Chapter 17: Healing Quickly

Lily looked up as Reaver strode into his bedroom. "Where were you all day?" she grumped, shutting her book and setting it in her lap. "It's past dinner time, I told Lucy to hold things in time for supper so that-"

Reaver sprang forward and shut her up with a hard, biting kiss, then rolled to the edge of the bed and began stripping off his gloves. "There was no need for that. I acquired food on the way back, and I purchased a little treat for you as well."

Lily frowned. "You didn't have to."

Reaver winked at her. "Oh but I did, because I wanted it for you. So be a good Lily and accept it when it gets here."

Lily sighed ad slumped back. "Yes sir."

"You seem grumpy."

"Why would I be grumpy? I only have a hole in my leg."

Reaver sighed and threw the blankets back, noting with pleasure that the girl had remained naked all day. He carefully lifted her leg and began unwrapping the bandages over the wound on her leg. He glanced up at her impassive face. "Does this hurt?"

"Not too much."

"Good." He smiled when he pulled back the last of the wrappings. Under his long fingers was nothing more than a scabbed, bruised section of flesh. The hole was completely closed and there was no sign of bleeding. "It's beginning to look whole again. It looks like there might be a bit of bleeding under the skin, but other than that your leg looks healthy."

Lily sat up eagerly. "Does that mean I can get up?"

Reaver chuckled and reached for his cane. "It pains me to allow you, but I don't see why you couldn't. Just use this and don't hesitate to ask for help." He rapped her nose with the top of the cane. "That's an order, or I will really make sure you can't walk for a week."

Lily giggled and took the cane from him. "As long as I can get out of this bed, I'm happy."

Reaver slid back and reached out to help her off the bed. She jerked away and stuck her tongue out at him. "I can do it!"

He rolled his eyes and stepped back, crossing his arms and watching her with one eyebrow raised. "Well then, let me see you do it by yourself."

She glared at him, slid to the edge of the bed and forced herself into a wobbling stand, using the cane heavily for support. Looking up at her tall companion, she grinned at him and straightened slightly. "There! Told you I could!"

Reaver nodded. "Oh yes, but how are you going to get dressed?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked around, then opened it again for a second, then sighed and frowned. "Well met." She flopped back onto the bed and looked up imploringly. "Help me dress?"

He crossed his arms and squinted at her.

"Please?" She raised her arms toward him, pouting as adorably as she could.

Reaver just stared at her.

She leaned back on the bed and tried fondling herself. "Oh please, oh please?"

A tiny smile cracked Reaver's face and he shifted his weight forward.

Lily grinned and doubled her efforts. "Please master Reaver? Help me?"

He laughed and grabbed a tunic off of a nearby chair. "Since you asked so nicely..."

Lily smiled as he knelt in front of her and started guiding the dress past her ankles and up her legs. She giggled when he lingered for a few moments around her crotch, then took a deep breath and arched her back as he pulled the tunic snugly onto her body. "Mmm, thank you, Reaver."

He nibbled briefly on the inside of one of her thighs, then leaned back and helped her stand. "No, thank you. That was immensely entertaining."

"Miss Lily? Master Reaver?" Lucy poked her head in and smiled. "Dinner will be ready soon. Shall it be served now?"

"Yes, Lucy. Thank you." Reaver stood and assisted Lily to her feet, handing her the cane and pushing her forward a few steps.

The little blonde maid put up her hands in resistance. "Oh no, we've prepared the food to be brought to you, then we were going to treat miss Lily to a sponge bath."

Lily glared murder at her and was about to rant about wanting to use her legs, but her mouth was suddenly covered by a large, slender hand while it's partner pulled her back into Reaver's chest.

"That would be lovely, Lucy. Please continue with what you were doing, I'll take care of this little rebel until the food arrives."

Lucy smiled and curtseyed. "Thank you sir! I'm sorry miss Lily, but it's for your health and I want you to be better as soon as possible."

Reaver chuckled as the maid turned red at the sight of him cupping a hand against Lily's groin, pushing one of his fingers from over her mouth between her teeth. "Trust me, little one, I desire this little flower to be functioning soon m'self. You run along, and check for a fever, you look a bit flushed."

Lucy quickly exited with a high-pitched squeak and lightly darted away.

Reaver continued teasing Lily generously after the maid had left, letting the small black-haired girl to rest against him. Her sharp teeth bit down on the finger in her mouth as he teased open her lower lips with his middle finger and caressed it. "Something wrong, pet?"

She just let out a muffled retort laced with what could have been a smothered moan.

He chuckled and lifted her off her feet, sat down and placed her in his lap, continuing his maneuvers. "What was that? I'm not sure I heard you correctly." He slid his finger fully into her and removed the digit from his mouth in sync to fully hear the moan she let slip. "Heh, that's what I thought."

"N-no, you d-disgusting man!" she gritting, reaching to stop his teasing hand. Her wrists were quickly gathered up with his free hand and pressed against her breasts. She let out a growling hiss and snapped at his nose.

"Feisty again, I see?" Reaver lamented, inserting a second finger and twisting inside her. "Don't tell me your getting rebellious again? Should I drug your drink or seduce you in the garden again to break you?"

She gasped, her face a light shade of pink, and struggled against him. "I'm not in the mood!"

"Your nethers tell me otherwise."

"They lie," Lily hissed, suppressing moans. "They lie like a little whore bastard lies to his wife."

Reaver laughed and twisted a third finger into her, stroking generously. "Well then this is a talented liar you hide between your legs. I'm near convinced it's your mouth that's lying to me."

Lily suddenly rocked back and let out a loud moan as he stroked a particular spot. "St-st-stop..." she gasped.

"Oh I've found something very nice! Let us try that again!"

"No! Uh-gn... R-R-Reaver..."

"Ah, I see it is consistent so far. Let's experiment further."

"Stop... no- AH-Hah-nggg..."

Reaver let out a loud laugh and stilled his hand for a moment. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"You already know!"

"I want to hear you say it!" The dark-haired man pushed a bruising kiss over her mouth and jerked his fingers sharply to taste her moans. "I want to see you say it with that lovely flush over your white face, your body trembling at my touch and begging for more."

She glared at him. "Fuck you."

"Gladly!" Reaver chortled and drew back his elbow menacingly.

"No!"

"Say it!"

"I came!"

"Again."

"I came, you made me come, you pushed me over the edge. Look, I'm blushing and trembling and all that shit you wanted, now put me down!"

Reaver laughed loudly and adjusted her, quickly pinning her arms behind her back where he wrapped them in sheets to trap her. "Well said. Now ask me for more."

"No! I don't want more!"

"Must we go over this again?"

"Reav-"

"Excuse me?" Reaver and Lily looked up to see Lucy's beet-red face peeping into the room. "I-I'm sorry, but I have your dinner and, ah, I can bring it back later-"

"Leave it outside the door!" Lily yelped before Reaver could speak. "For the love of unknown gods, leave it outside the door!"

Lucy nodded rapidly, then shut the door.

"You, madame, are absolutely no fun at all," Reaver pouted, twisting his fingers vigorously inside her.

Lily groaned and snapped her teeth at him again. "You would have invited her in! She doesn't need to see this!"

"Embarrassed?"

"For her sake, yes! AH-Hah... Reaver, stop!"

He looked up from biting her breast. "Why?"

"Grrr- AAARGH! BECAUSE I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF OF ME YOU DISGUSTING, PERVY, FILTHY, DEVIANT OLD MAN! I WILL RIP OFF YOUR NUT SACK AND FEED IT TO THE DOGS, THEN I WILL TAKE YOUR PENIS AND..."

XxX

Outside the room Lucy sat on the floor with her hands over her burning face, saying "Oh Avo, dear Avo, good gracious god Avo... Why do I still work here?"

The dark-haired servant, Charles came striding down the hallway and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Is Reaver terrorizing you again?"

Lucy shook her head and smiled. "He's not really terrorizing me as much as he is poor miss Lily. I feel bad for the girl. She's going to be another common, discarded tart when the master is done with her."

Charles shook his head as he helped her up. "Normally I would agree with you, but I think this girl is different. Don't ask me how, it's just a feeling. When I look at her... I don't know, I feel hopeful. Kind of like the old queen Sparrow, if you remember."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yes, I know what you mean. Well who knows? I'm the first to hope for someone to rein that man in a bit. Avo knows he needs it, for his own good, and maybe this girl could be the one to do it."

Charles smiled and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We can only hope."

Le sigh... I feel like I didn't get anywhere with this chapter, but I did enjoy writing it.

Reaver: Well I enjoyed it.

Me: You have no say. You never have a say.

Reaver: Excuse me?

Me: You heard me!

Reaver: Well then why don't you write me out of the story, you sniveling little minx?

Me: Who says I won't?

Reaver: … You bitch...

Me: Teeheehee... gods, I'm tired...

Spoiler: PLOT TWIST! Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuun! Wait and see, I'm hoping it will be good (and sexy times with Reaver don't distract me from it...)


	18. Time to Train

Here is Chapter Eighteen, and I hope you enjoy it. Yes, there is a bit of a plot twist in here and you get to figure out what it is.

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Lots of language, implied nudity, and fighting. There is fighting in this chapter.

Chapter 18: Time to Train

Dark eyes sprang open to a loud crash and triumphant female voice calling out, "Found it!"

A long, lean man sat up slowly, pushing a hand through his hair and examining his room in annoyance. "What exactly did you find?"

"One of these," the noisy, dark-haired girl taunted, holding up a shiny round object. "Look familiar? This is a guild seal, isn't it?"

"You aren't supposed to be up," Reaver gritted in bad temper, looking at the object in her hand. It was indeed familiar, a silver disk with gold inlaid and decorated with blue. It let off a dim, silvery glow that cast strange shadows in the small hands holding it. "Where did you find that?"

"Behind that picture of you dressed as a girl," Lily crowed, spinning on her good leg, then hissing when the injured one hit the floor. She quickly recovered and held up the seal with one hand in triumph. "That was way easier than I thought it would be! Why do you have it hidden in your house?"

The raven-haired man leaned forward, an irritated scowl twisting his face. "If you must know, it's mine. That hag gave it to me while I was adventuring with queen Sparrow. So put it back and go adventuring for your own."

Lily blinked. "There's more than one?"

"Of course there's more than one!"

The small girl looked at the seal, then sat down unhappily. "Well shit. Are you sure I can't have this one?"

Reaver pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "Oh, fuss. Take it. I haven't used the bloody thing in years. I doubt I'll ever use it again, so just take the rotten thing if you must."

Lily grinned, her scar crinkling dramatically, and she leaned forward to kiss Reaver's nose. "Thank you!"

He glanced at her. "You seem to be in a chipper mood."

She laughed and swung her leg onto the bed. "Look! It's nothing but a bruise and a scar now! I can even walk on it and everything! Just can't put too much weight on it, or it twinges a bit, but other than that it feels way better!"

Reaver smiled and took a handful of her hair, tugging her toward him for a kiss. He leaned back slightly in surprise when she lunged forward and took control from him, pushing him back onto the pillows slightly. The deviant chuckled and pushed her away. "Quite the change of heart from last night."

Lily laughed and sprang up, holding the seal to her chest. "Yes well, you're not molesting me this time. Should we go down for some breakfast?"

Reaver stood and took her wrist. "Before breakfast I'm teaching you how to hold a gun."

"Excuse me?"

"Then after breakfast we are going to practice swordplay until noon, stop for lunch, practice magic casting until dinner, then after dinner we can try some night shooting and maybe a little bit of blind swordplay."

Lily's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You didn't think I would just let you laze around for all eternity, did you? You've found a seal, and good for you, but now the real training begins." He chuckled darkly as he slipped into his pants. "If you found that little magic exercise the other day to be tiring, just wait for this new day to end. You'll regret having gotten out of my comfortable, obliging bed."

The girl's face fell and she feebly offered the tall man the seal. "You can have it back."

"No no, it's yours now. You wanted it, so you can have the blasted thing."

"But... but...!"

"Nope!"

"Damn it!"

XxX

An amber-haired maid peeped out the front door, watching as her tall master tried to teach the small girl how to aim a pistol. "Shall I tell them their brekky is getting cold?" she called back into the house.

"No, leave them be. Put it in the oven to keep it warm. They'll be in when the master gets hungry."

"Aye, then," the little maid sighed, giving Reaver's legs and bottom a good, appreciative stare before ducking back into the mansion.

"I thought you said to keep my finger on the trigger?" Lily said exasperatedly.

"Keep your finger next to the trigger, and then get ready to pull it when you are ready to fire. You don't want a round going into your leg or your friend because of careless handling. Now use your thumb to pull back the hammer..."

"Like this?"

"Yes, but I'll teach you a more efficient way to do it later. Now point it at your target. Hold it up a touch higher so you can sight down your arm a bit. There, now peep through that little circle on the end. If the gun fires true, then that's where the bullet is going to go."

"What if it isn't true?"

"It depends on the gun, but you learn to aim once you've figured out the tricks and flaws. Now sight again, good gel, now where are you pointing?"

"Ummm... at the house across the lake."

"No, no, no, let's not disturb my neighbors in such a way. Let's shoot the remains of the guard shack over there. See that jagged bit that sticks out from the left? Target that. Now steady, breath in, then breath out. Good, your breath is calm. This time when you breath out and have a bit of breath left, fire. That's when your hands will be most steady."

Lily concentrated hard on her target, holding the gun at arms length and trying to sight the bit of wood right in the center of the circle. She took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out and tentatively pulled the trigger.

Reaver grinned at the bang and the sight of the wood shattering. "Excellent! Have you ever used a gun before?"

"My brother showed me how to use his combat pistol, but that was a lot more high-tech than this is."

Reaver grinned and shrugged. "My dear, this is a Dragonstomper .48, the best gun currently not on the market in all of Albion and my weapon of choice. I assure you, this is the best you can get in our world."

Lily turned and smiled. "So can we have breakfast now?"

Reaver traced her chin with a teasing finger and shook his head. "Oh, heavens no! First you must practice at least another three rounds on stationary objects, then we will switch to five rounds of moving targets, then we can have brekky. Patience, my flower."

Lily turned away, grumbling quietly and sighted the ruined shack again, this time aiming at a dislodged shingle.

XxX

Come nightfall, Lily fully regretted getting out of bed. She stood stiff at attention in the black of the garden, blindfolded and wielding a light, folded katana that fit her hand beautifully. Her leg ached horribly and every muscle in her body felt heavy, and she wanted to throw a tantrum at the thought of having to go through several months of this, if not several years.

The small girl spun on the heel of her good foot when she thought she heard a footstep behind her.

Anyway, Reaver had said that mastering swordplay took up most of a person's life, and if it didn't, well they just wouldn't be any good. Lily sighed when she remembered that he had said the same thing about shooting and casting.

A gun clicked to her right and she dropped silently to the ground. The gun went off and she felt it whip past her, nearly taking off an ear on it's journey. As quietly as she could, every noise painfully loud, she sprinted toward the sound of the gun and brought the sword down... into dirt. She cursed quietly and rolled quickly to one side when she heard a familiar, amused chuckle.

This whole hero thing was already getting to be a pain. She knew how to shoot from what her brother taught her, and she wasn't half bad, but these primitive weapons were far more complicated than what she had learned to shoot with and it was maddening. Not to mention she had never picked up a blade in her life short of a tanto that she taught herself how to use when she was very young.

Another click and the girl crouched, waited two seconds and rolled forward quickly. A scuffed footstep to her right, she swung low toward the noise and heard a soft thump from a few feet back. She darted in the direction and swung her sword and... connected! With something soft.

"Oof..."

Lily gasped and leapt back, ripping off her blindfold. "Oh gods... Reaver are you alright, I-"

The tall man was behind her and smacked her head sharply. "Now look at what you've done, you've gone and ruined one of my nice comforters the maids left out to dry."

Lily turned around, furious. "Idiot! I thought I had hurt you!"

He laughed and picked up the blade from where she had dropped it. "As if I would let you. You're absolutely dreadful at this. The only advantage you would have in a fight would be speed and your size. Other than that, you're clumsy, impatient, uncoordinated..."

"Enough!" Lily shouted, snatching back the blade. "I was blindfolded you jerk!"

"I was talking about when you weren't blindfolded, actually."

The small girl snarled at him and turned to go inside. "I've had enough. I'm going to bed."

"Not yet, you're not."

She turned and scowled. "Try and stop me."

Reaver gave her a look that said, "wrong choice of words, kiddo" and suddenly sprinted forward, disarmed her and had her pinned to the ground, all without even jostling her damaged leg. "You, miss, have to do a bit more work before you can sleep."

"What work?" she growled, straining to get free.

"One hundred sit-ups, one-hundred squats, fifty push-ups, fifty bear lunges, and then a rigorous session of movement and handling exercises."

She stared at him, kind of wishing she could summon a single tear to let run down her cheek. "You- you can't be serious."

"Milady, I am completely serious." He stood and moved to sit on the steps leading up to his house and waved at her. "Just so you know, my weary little flower petal, if you fail to do it all in succession and without messing any of it, I will have you start over."

Lily knelt on the ground and tried to give Reaver her most piteous look. She was met with a merciless, impassive stare. "But-"

"The sooner you start, the sooner it will be over."

Lily crouched on the ground, glaring bloody murder at the calm man in front of her. "Once I'm better at this shit I'm gonna fucking kill you."

Reaver laughed and reclined slightly on the stairs, taking one of her cigarettes and lighting it. "Oh, please. I've been doing this for more than three-hundred years. It will be a long time before you can best me in anything." He ducked as a fireball flew over his head. "Point taken, but you stopped for a moment. Start over."

"Fuck!"

XxX

"A month!"

Lucy looked up as Charles burst into the kitchen, his hands thrust into his hair. "What's wrong?"

"Those two and their infernal practicing!" Charles rages, slamming his fists down onto the table. "Did you know I'm now apparently a moving target? I've almost been shot three times, and every time that little witch misses, Reaver scolds her! They're trying to kill me!"

Lucy stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they're just teasing."

"Well what they aren't teasing about is the amount of laundry and mending I've had to do since they started slashing at each other with swords, not to mention trying to repair every stray bullet hole that barrels through a wall or door. They even shredded one of the best tapestries and I was told to try and repair it!"

Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but only managed a small peep.

"And it's been a whole month of this! I don't know how much more I can take... this is getting insane! If I have to mend one more pair of gloves or order another hat or wash another filthy pair of lady garments I'm going to scream!"

An older woman with graying tawny hair bustled into the room with a basket. "There you are, Charles. These need mending and washing. Do the black ones first so the master can have them ready for their night sessions."

Lucy quickly wrapped Charles in a tight hug and stroked his hair. "There, there. The master needs to teach miss Lily how to fight, you know. She'll soon be out adventuring and doing heroic things and she needs to learn how to defend herself. Would you rather have miss Lily kill herself in a one-sided battle with a bandit."

Charles scoffed. "Even if I were a balverine, I would fear that woman. She is a nightmare wrapped in white skin."

"Who is?"

The servants blanched and turned to see Reaver looming over them, his cane over one shoulder and his hat cocked to one side with a bullet hole bored through it. "I do hope you are not speaking of my lovely Lily, because I think her to be more of a wildcat than a nightmare." He grinned and them and swung his cane down to lean on it. "The way she is progressing, a balverine should fear to face her. That girl is definitely of hero blood, you mark me."

"Hero blood?" Lucy exclaimed, throwing her apron over her face. "Master Reaver! You're harboring a hero in this household?"

Reaver put a finger to his lips. "Shush, little one. The word must not get out. Yes, Lily is a hero and is staying with us, but if anyone asks, we have no idea of what her veins channel."

Charles turned red. "If the king were to find out, we would all be executed!"

Reaver winked at him. "I'm sure I could persuade that boy otherwise. Now then," the tall man straightened and winked at the two. "The girl and I are hungry and require sustenance. Please bring the spread outside for us, then get to that laundry. I'm attending a small party tonight and I would like to look my best."

The two nodded and turned to return to work. Then Charles let out a small yelp as the marred top hat was flung at him.

"And Charles, darling, won't you run to town and fetch me a new hat? Thank you dearly. Tatty-bye!"

Reaver stepped out side and his eyes instantly darted to his gate. On the other side was an approaching guard, much too ornament to be a regular boot scrubber. The master of the house raised his eyebrow, then glanced at Lily. His eyes widened when he saw her with her hands curled, charging a fireball spell.

"Lily!"

The girl looked up, startled, and the fire fizzled around her fingertips. "Aye! Yes?"

The tall man strode to her quickly and turned her toward the door. "Go inside. The king's guard has come to call."

"Can't I see?" Lily crooned, twisting her neck to look at the gate.

"No!" Reaver snapped sharply, pushing her toward the door. "Go inside and stay in there or I will put you in that big cage in my chambers and throw cold water on you every half hour!"

Lily pouted, but quickly rushed inside. Never take Reaver's words as a jest.

The master of the house approached the guard who had just entered through the gate. "Good morning to you, and how can I help you this fine day?"

The guard remained silent until he was standing in front of Reaver, then looked him up and down. "King Logan sent me."

"Is the boy missing his adviser? I would be happy to come and assist him, but things are a bit busy around here and-"

"He sent me to give you this."

Reaver took the box with surprise and quickly opened it. "Oh, for me? I must say this is a surprise. It can't be my birthday, because I would be in Bloodstone by now and-" He stopped when the top of the box fell away and he saw what was inside. It was a dainty pair of black leather gloves, studded with augments and decorated generously with red gold and white silver. "What's this?"

"He said to consider it a present to your house guest, and requests to meet her."

"Meet me?"

Reaver turned and nearly let out a snarl when he saw the little girl standing on the steps. "I told you-"

She darted forward and picked up the gloves, her eyes shining. "Look at these! They're for me?"

"They're not yours," Reaver hissed, taking them from her. "They belonged to Sparrow."

"They belong to the king, and he wishes her to have them," the guard said flatly, then offered Lily his hand. "Madame, I am one of king Logan's personal guard."

Lily smiled and went to shake his hand, giggling when he kissed it lightly. "Charmed to meet you, sir."

Reaver made to interject, but the guard spoke first. "The king says it would be his delight and pleasure to be your host one evening, if you would consent to dine with him."

Lily took the gloves back from Reaver and slipped one on, admiring the way the stones flashed when they brushed against her skin. "After a gift like this? It would be a rude thing indeed to turn him down." Lily smiled at the guard. "It would be my pleasure to dine with the king."

Reaver groaned internally and resisted shooting the guard in the face. He had worried that this would happen, and now it was too late to stop it.

The guard bowed low to Lily. "It is my pleasure to deliver this message to the king. He will be expecting you within the month, young miss."

The two watched him leave silently, the man fuming silently and the girl admiring the gloves.

"Look, aren't they nice? I'll bet they're great for sword fighting! You never said that the king was such a nice guy-"

"Shut up," Reaver snarled, brushing a hand through his hair. "You idiot... did you ever stop and wonder how the king knew you were here?"

Lily blinked and looked up at him. "N-no. Does it matter? He's the king. What's wrong?"

Reaver glared at her. "Heroes are outlawed in Albion, outside of myself and the royal family. If he sent his royal guard here, that means he might have discovered what you are. If he has, your life is in danger."

Lily blanched. "Oh..."

Reaver let out a snarling sound and seized her by the wrist, dragging her toward the house.

"Wait!" Lily yelled. "Where are we going?"

"Where I said I would take you if you didn't stay inside the house, you little wretch."

Lily blanched and started trying to rip away. "Nooo! I don't deserve that."

Reaver turned and hauled her onto his shoulder with a grunt, then continued down the hall.

Lily glared down at him, then took a deep breath and placed her hands flat against his back.

The tall man stiffened and looked back at her. "What are you doing?"

Lily grinned as blue flashed beneath her hands.

"AH-HARGH!"

Lily leapt off of him as he crumpled to the floor and stuck her tongue out at him. "Take that! And while you're down there, tell me exactly what's going on and why I can't meet the king."

Reaver grunted, trying to move, but found himself paralyzed again. "You vile little creature, I will shoot you in the face."

Lily just held up a sparking hand. "Try it."

He sighed and managed to lunge so he rolled himself over. The stun wasn't as powerful as he thought it was, thankfully, but that just meant that she had to work on it. "King Logan is a dangerous man."

"He can't be more dangerous than you."

"Well," Reaver allowed a chuckle. "Of course not."

"What makes him dangerous?"

The raven-haired man glared up at her. "He's the king, that's what makes him dangerous. I already told you that heroes are outlawed in Albion, thanks to the king. He banished the few that were left to Aurora."

"Aurora?"

"Later."

Lily huffed and knelt beside him. "Fine. So what should I do then."

Reaver glared at her. "Stay here and stay hidden."

The small girl frowned. "But he knows I'm here. It doesn't make sense to stay. Shouldn't I-"

"Where else would you go?"

Lily sat back and thought. He was right, she knew nothing of Albion, and she couldn't just throw herself on some other person's doorstep. Avo knows what would happen. "There must be someplace I could go."

Reaver sneered. "Who would take you in? You're safest here."

"What about those rebels?"

The man on the ground glanced at her. "What about "those rebels"?"

Lily smiled and leaned forward. "Well if I could find them I could ask for refuge. They wouldn't refuse a hero, and they would be a pretty poor resistance if they didn't know how to hide themselves."

"Ah," Reaver sighed, trying to regain feeling in his arms. "If they're so great at hiding, how do you plan on finding them?"

"I can make them come to me," Lily said confidently.

Reaver twitched and tried to sit up or grab her as she stood and stepped back. "Hold up! What are you thinking?"

The little girl smiled at him bravely. "Well if king Logan has outlawed heroes, then it would be pretty easy to draw attention to myself, being a hero and all."

"Lily..."

"I can just go into Bowerstone and do some hero-ish stuff and get people's attention. The rebels are sure to come out and try to recruit me."

"Lily, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"I do!"

"No, you-"

"It's a fine plan. Do you have a better one?"

"No, but-"

"Then I'll do it! Just gotta avoid guards, maybe save a kitten or two, shoot a fireball at statues and-"

"Shut up!" Reaver sat up suddenly, heat flaring into his limbs and allowing him to move. He pulled her legs out from beneath her and caught her head before it hit the floor. "This is not a game! You want to form a death trap around yourself? Are you mad?"

Lily blinked at him and shook her head. "No, I just-"

"It's too early to be making these rash decisions. We have at least a month until the guards come for you again. In that time we will find a place to hide you. We will only seek out those refugee vermin if we must."

The small girl nodded and sighed. "Okay, I guess."

Reaver suddenly caught her up and started walking briskly toward his room again.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you, I'm going to strip you naked, put you in that cage and throw cold water on you every thirty minutes until you learn not to disobey me."

"You monster!"

Reaver caught her hands and pressed them together, chuckling as he opened the secret door to his pleasure chamber and descended with the raging girl.

So Lily is finally learning how to be a hero, and I must say, she is doing pretty damn well for herself. Of course there is always room for improvement, but she is getting there. And (dun dun duuun) the king is looking for her! Oh noes!

Spoiler: Um... Lily abuse and sexytimes. That's about all the next chapter contains...


	19. Scar Removal

Chapter Nineteen is up, and I apologies for the filler-ness it contains. There are important things, like learning a new spell and have you what, but I'm hoping to move it on a little faster in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy! I certainly did...

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Lots of language, nudity, blood and gore, and very graphic sex. Pretty much the darkest, dirtiest chapter in the story so far, so if you don't feel you can handle it, skip it. It's not too important and I will fill you in if you need me to.

Chapter 19: Scar Removal

It was late when Reaver returned to his home, or to more correct, it was very early. He sighed as he climbed out of his carriage and lit a cigarette he had stolen from Lily. He had taken a strange liking to them, and he had determined that he would find a way to start manufacturing them, seeing as Lily only had a few boxes left.

He strode toward his house wearily and quietly opened the door, not wanting to alert his servants that he was home. As he shut the door behind him his ear twitched at a noise that sounded very much like a trapped animal howling.

"Bloody, noisy little twit," he muttered, locking the door and striding quickly toward the noise. Surprisingly, he found the door to both his room and his pleasure chamber open. "I was sure I left them shut," he mused, hastening down the steps to the lower chamber.

Lily sat in the back of the cage with her hands over her ears, glaring at the writhing balverine on the floor. "I'm sorry," she shouted at the wailing creature. "What was I supposed to do? You were trying to eat me!" The creature ignored her and Lily sighed, nursing a large knotted scar that ran from her left shoulder to the top of her right breast. "You almost got me," Lily laughed bitterly, tracing her finger along the wound. There had been nothing to wrap it with so she had been forced to burn it shut with her fire magic. It was excruciating, but at least it had closed the wound. Lily shivered again when she remembered pressing the sparking flame to her flesh, then shook her head and slumped back against the bars. Even though she had sealed the wound she had still lost a lot of blood. The proof was the thick rivulets and pools that had dried on her skin, caking her with the stuff.

The creature howled, but suddenly started to lurch up, it's crazed eyes glaring at the girl in the cage. Lily snarled at it and held up her hand. "Come near me and I'll blast you again."

The creature let out a howl and charged the cage, crashing into it and swiping at her madly.

"What I wouldn't give for a blade!" Lily screamed to herself, trying to cast a spell. Suddenly, three golden, glowing blades leapt from her fingertips and flew at the balverine's chest. The monster let out a roar and began to fall, but not before it took one more swipe at Lily.

The little girl screamed as the claws connected with her out-stretched hand, completely piercing it all the way through the upper part of her palm. "Mother fucker," she screamed, sending another three blades at the monster's head. "That fucking hurt!"

Reaver popped his head into the chamber at that moment and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh Avo..."

Lily spotted him and jumped toward him, inhibited by the bars of the cage. "You fucking lunatic! How dare you trap me in here with these monsters roaming around your house? Look at this!" She thrust a finger at the long scar on her chest. "Look at what that thing did to me! And this!" She thrust her bleeding hand through the bars at him, wincing in pain. "This is your fault, you ass! Fix me!"

Reaver half jumped, half sprinted to the cage, kicking the dead balverine aside and popping the lock quickly, not saying a word.

"Was this some kind of fucked up training exercise? If so, then you are a sick bastard! I could have been killed, or bitten and turned into one of those things! What would you have done then, you horrid freak?"

Reaver silently reached into the cage and gently picked her up.

Lily looked up at him. "Well-"

The man just put a finger to her mouth. "Hush."

She gulped and tried to relax as he carried her to his room, trying her best to hold her bleeding hand away from his white clothes. She was carefully placed on Reaver's bed before the man started moving to find her bandages.

"Hello?" she called out, still in high bad temper. "Ignoring me isn't going to make me go away."

Reaver walked to where she was sitting and began binding her hand.

"Stop!" Lily growled, ripping her hand away. "I can fix it."

He looked up at her, his face impassive. "How?"

She held up her hand and summoned a small, but extremely hot flame. "Like this, mother fucker."

Reaver flinched and tried to stop her, but moved back when he was threatened with the flame.

"Touch me and I'll burn that tattoo off your fucking face," Lily hissed, her eyes burning hotter than the fire in her hand. She grabbed a corner of blanket next to her and crammed it in her mouth before jamming the fire into the hole in her hand.

Reaver winced and stepped back, the smell of burning, melting flesh filling the room instantly. Behind the cloth jammed in her mouth, Lily screamed and gnashed her teeth against the material, her eyes spouting tears like two streams. She quickly pulled back to look at the cauterized wound, then flipped her hand over and jammed the flame into the exit wound. After another shriek and a painfully long second or two, she ripped the flame away and spat out the cloth, glaring murder at the tall man in front of her.

He sat down in a chair near the fireplace and offered her a cigarette. She snatched it from him, lit up, then ashed most of it with one long, angry drag. "You son of a bitch," she exhaled, blowing smoke with every word.

Reaver shrugged at her, making her temper flare again.

"Where did that thing come from?"

"It most likely broke into the house on it's own. It tends to happen from time to time. The house reeks of balverine-"

"Thanks to that fucked up group of friends you had."

"Yes, I realize. I apologize."

Lily slammed her hands down on the armrest of his chair, pushing her face close to his. Her eyes were almost red with wrath and her fingertips sparked dangerously. "I don't want your apology, I want you to explain why you trapped me down there with a live balverine and no way to defend myself."

"It was a shock to myself as well, I assure you," Reaver said, matching her stare. "You were to stay down there until I got home, then I was going to let you out. Balverines were not supposed to be part of the equation."

"Well they were."

Reaver stood, pushing her back. "You can scream at me until your vocal cords snap, but that isn't going to make me any more responsible for what happened."

Lily grabbed his arm, digging in her nails with blind fury. "Then make it right! Look, I'm half-mutilated, as if having a slashed up mug wasn't enough!"

"I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"Well I did! And don't tell me it's not your fault, you're the one who is always associating with those rotten creatures! You said yourself, they're attracted to your house! So how in any way does that process into it being safe to leave someone defenseless in a locked cage?"

Reaver suddenly grabbed her shoulder, squeezing tightly so the girl hissed and had to kneel. "I told you it was not supposed to happen. I told you it was an accidental event outside of my control. I even gave you my apologies." He suddenly knelt and pushed her back onto the floor. "I understand why you are upset, but you are alive, are you not? Probably more alive than ever because you just soundly defeated one of the toughest creatures in Albion without even a knife to assist you. So," he lunged forward so his entire body was hovering over hers. "Are you going to continue to scream at me for something that was not my fault, or are you going to shut up and realize what you accomplished and actually take pride in yourself for once?"

Lily blinked at him, squirming slightly. "It was terrifying."

"I can imagine."

"Can you? Being trapped, naked none the less, and having a balverine attacking you."

"I have been in similar situations."

"Have you?"

"I have."

"Oh really?"

"My situation involved monkeys. I am tempted to say I win."

Lily sighed and slumped back. "Do you understand why I'm angry?"

"Of course I do, and you have every right to be, but it is very un-hero-like to so violently blame it on someone who had little to do with it. A real hero would take it in their stride and proudly accept their victory."

"After getting ripped up like this?"

"I have some ointment that will make those scars fade considerably."

Lily blinked. "You do?"

"I do."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Can I use it on my face?"

Reaver sighed and pulled back, helping the girl into a sitting position. "It will work on the scars on your chest and hand, though they won't disappear completely. The scar on your face is too old, it's already set into your skin. You can try the ointment, but I have very little hope that it will do anything."

Lily slumped in disappointment, then traced the scar on her chest with her little finger. "How much will it fade these?"

"Typically, it managed to get it down to a thin, white little scar. Sometimes it darkens the skin a bit, but that is uncommon."

"Why didn't you tell me about it when I had my gunshot wound?"

"Frankly? I was out."

"Oh." Lily blinked at the floor, then stared at the sizzling wound on her hand. "Go get it please."

Reaver sighed and stood up, then quickly knelt, bundled Lily into a hug and threw her on the bed. He flashed his favorite cheshire grin at her and said, "stay right there, pet. I'll be right back." He quickly moved out of the room, leaving Lily alone.

The black-haired girl sighed heavily, then punched the wall behind her forcefully. "Son of a bitch," she griped, flexing her hand after the impact. "Locking me in that cage in the first place was unacceptable, that jerk." She slumped back and sniffed, examining her blood-stained body. "This is disgusting. I'm caked with my own blood and Avo knows what that beast splattered on me." She picked at a large trail on her chest for a moment, then sighed again. "Maybe I can at least use this to get out of training tomorrow. I can only hope... but maybe he will let me off if I bitch for the rest of the night."

"I would prefer for you to seduce me, to be quite honest."

Lily glared up at Reaver who was leaning over the edge of the bed. He suddenly gave her a looking-over and frowned. "You are horribly filthy."

"No shit," Lily growled, sitting up. "It's mostly mine, and it's making me feel sick. I want a bath."

Reaver pushed her back and crawled onto the bed. "The ointment first. We will rub it in now, wait a bit, then take a bath, then put a little more on."

Lily sighed, but nodded.

The dark-haired man smiled gently and opened the bottle. "This may be a little warm, and it might sting a bit due to those blisters you gave yourself."

"Would you rather have had me bleed out?" Lily snapped before gasping when the liquid hit her chest. "Avo, that's hot!" She frowned, then grimaced. "And it hurts."

Reaver's smile widened as he rubbed it over the gruesome, burned flesh. "I'm glad you did not bleed out, but this seemed like a painful alternative. You must be made of solid steel to be able to take that kind of pain."

"How about you try it some time," Lily hissed as he dripped a bit more onto her skin. "I'll rip you a nice new hole, then burn it shut, and we'll see how you deal with it."

Reaver chuckled and dripped a bit of the ointment on her breasts, massaging them roughly. "Indeed, you would enjoy that I'm sure."

Lily let out a small humming noise, closing her eyes as the liquid heated the skin on her breasts. "That feels good." She breathed out suddenly when he let three drops land on her privates. "Reaver! At least do my hand first!"

He chuckled and poured a bit of ointment onto the offended appendage. "Terribly sorry. Is this what you wanted?"

The girl smiled when he massaged the scar with one hand and her womanhood with the other. "Really? You horny bastard... I'm still mad at you."

"Perhaps I enjoy it when you're mad at me," the dark-eyed man purred, stroking her gently. "You get so rough and fired up, I find it exciting."

Lily suddenly sat up and bit down on the lower part of his ear. "Do you? I thought you had gotten bored of me. You haven't tried to molest me in a week."

Reaver pushed her back and nibbled gently on her neck, pushing down on the injured wrist and moving his fingers firmly against her. "Not at all, my sweet. You've just been exhausting this past week, with how much I've had to teach you."

Lily wrapped her free arm around his neck and bit his collarbone. "You're the one who made me do so much."

"And you complained the entire time," Reaver chuckled into her neck, pulling his shoulder back to allow her easier access. "I swear, you wasted so much time whining about how much I had you doing... If you hadn't wasted your breath, we could have been done before dinner every day."

"You know that's a lie," Lily sighed, leaning back and reaching for the crotch of his pants. "You would have come up with something else to make me do to keep us occupied until midnight."

Reaver growled when her hand pressed against him through his pants, his vision tinting red. A week without sex... something he had not done for a long time, and it was taking it's toll. He sat up and quickly began removing his shirt, looking down at the girl lustfully.

Seeing what he was doing, Lily put her hands up and pressed them against his chest. "Wait! I want to bathe first, I feel gross!"

He just shook his head and cast his shirt away, quickly removing his pants with a few expert movements. "I cannot wait, my pet." He crouched over her in nothing but his boxers and licked her breast, tasting blood, sweat and ointment.

Lily tried to push him back, disgusted. "No! Reaver, I'm filthy! Look at me! Avo knows how much of this isn't mine, and anyway- ugn..." she stopped short when he suddenly pushed a finger into her unexpectedly. With a deep breath, she shakily tried to continue, "A-anyway... I'm tired, and I lost a lot of blood... uh-um, please Reaver, don't... we can- um- later... please..." She trailed off and twisted her head to one side shamefully. The week of abstinence had taken it's toll on her as well.

Reaver took the bottle of ointment and spread a bit more onto her scars and then onto her breasts, rubbing in the heated substance as he pushed his third finger into the girl beneath him. "Haven't you learned by now, " he purred into her ear, "that there's no use in saying no to me?"

Somehow the statement made Lily hot and she felt her face flush slightly. Lifting her arm, she quickly tried to hide her shame, but was immediately stopped by the man on top of her.

"Never hide your red face," he growled, thrusting her arm aside.

"W-why?" Lily mumbled, turning her face away.

He took her chin between two fingers and turned it back toward him again, licking her jaw roughly. "I just love it when I catch you blushing because of me. You are usually so stony and impassive, I just adore the way you crumble for me."

Lily suppressed a gasp when his words made her hot again, her face rushing with blood. "Don't- don't say those things."

Reaver laughed and took hold of her hips with both hands, lifting her up. "I will say whatever I please to you."

Lily gasped when he pulled her hips up to his face, hooking her legs around his shoulders. "Stop!" she yelped. "You know I hate this!" The only answer she received was a generous sucking noise and a quiet chuckle. She squirmed slightly, pushing against his knees and arching her back uncomfortably. "Stoppit!" she pleaded, feeling wetness running down her legs and bottom.

Reaver just hooked an arm under her leg and put his hand over her mouth, continuing his ministrations. He could feel her murmuring rebelliously under his hand, but he could also feel the reaction between her legs when he did this. He pulled back for a moment to comment. "Still enjoy being smothered, eh?" He laughed and planted his mouth on her, enjoying the small outburst under his hand.

Finally he lowered her back onto the bed in front of him, looking at her with satisfaction. Her face was bright red and her body shone with sweat and balm, some of the dry blood on her moistening and shimmering like trails of rubies. She let out a tiny gasp and tried to cover herself when he let her down, but he seized her hips and flipped her over. "Get up," he demanded, slapping her ass loudly.

"W-what?" Lily gasped, peeking over her shoulder at him.

"Get up," he growled, lifting her hips and forcing her into doggy position.

Lily squeaked and hung her head. "What's this?"

"You will enjoy it," Reaver growled, kneeling and positioning himself behind her.

"W-wait- AH-HAN-GHH!" Her arms trembled beneath her and threatened to give out when he entered, pleasure hitting her in waves. "R-Reaver!"

He slapped her ass hard. "What?"

"I- I can't-"

"You can't what?"

"I can't h-hold myself up!"

He suddenly reached down and knocked her arms out, catching her, but keeping her ass in the air. "Better?"

Lily squirmed and made a muffled noise through the pillows she had landed in. Reaver laughed and trapped her hands in the low of her back, slamming into her hard. "Enjoyable, love?" He listened to her noisy, muffled sounds, laughed again and continued slamming her, keeping her trapped in the one position.

Haha, sextimes... and so much Lily abuse... I almost feel bad. Almost...

Spoiler: No clue yet. Tune in and see. ;)


	20. Disguised

Okay, so here is Chapter 20. Thank you all for reading and following me and whatnot, it means a whole bunch to me. Now then, this chapter is basically a lead up to the moving on of the entire story. Basically, Lily decides it's time to move out.

Copyrights all go to Lionhead and co. … except for Lily. She is mine.

Warning: Language, nudity... and that's about all. A decently clean chapter all in all.

Chapter 20: Disguised

_Hot..._ Lily's eyes creaked open. _Why is it so hot? I feel like I'm on fire..._

"Oh! Miss Lily, you're awake!"

The black-haired girl cast her opened eye toward the voice and saw the little blonde maid, Lucy, hovering over her. "Where am I?"

"Master Reaver had me put you in the tub when you passed out in his room," Lucy explained somberly. "I heard about what happened with the balverine. That must have been beastly."

"I- I passed out?" Lily groaned, throwing an arm over her face. The wet skin made a slapping noise against her cheeks.

"Master Reaver said it was due to how much blood you lost. From what Charles has told me, you did lose a lot. He had to clean it up, so he would know." the little maid said, kneeling in front of the tub and resuming her task of gently washing the pale girl.

"Stop. Stop it," Lily said, sitting up and pulling away. "I can wash myself."

Lucy stood and curtseyed. "As you wish. I need to fetch you fresh water any how. Just holler if you need anything."

Lily sighed and hunched over her knees, her eyes widening at the murky red water. "Oh, ew."

"Finally awake?" Reaver inquired, busting through the door eloquently.

The pale-skinned girl let out a barking laugh when she saw him. "Do you just stroll around your house naked all the time?"

"Only when the mood strikes me," the tall man chuckled, leaning over the tub. He wrinkled his nose at the dark red filth and took a short step away.

"Gross, isn't it?" Lily said, grinning and leaning back into the mess. "But at least it's warm. Wait..." her eyes sprang toward the man lounging nearby. "I passed out?"

He laughed and laid a towel over his lap. "Indeed you did. One moment you were yelling something out in this wonderfully pleasure intoxicated voice, then you suddenly went still and limp. I was tempted to think that I had killed you." He winked. "It wouldn't be the first time it has happened."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You disgust me sometimes."

Reaver chuckled, then moved to stand when Lucy and three other maids entered with fresh tubs of water. After popping open a hole on the bottom of the bathtub to let the filthy water drain (and leaving Lily deliciously exposed in the porcelain concave), the three quickly scrubbed out the remainder of filth, then refilled it. They all three curtseyed for Reaver before scurrying out of the bathroom, giggling.

Reaver sank into the tub opposite of Lily, letting out a pleased sigh as he sank into the warm water.

Lily sat up, rubbing herself down with a soapy washcloth. "Reaver, I've been thinking."

"A dangerous occupation, but admirable none the less."

"Anyhoo, you know how you said heroes are outlaws and king Logan most likely wants to kill me?"

"I remember."

"And remember how I said I could ask the rebel prince and his gang to hide me?"

He pinned her with a glaring eye. "I do."

She just smirked back at him. "Well, where do you think a rebellious brother would hide?"

"Where?"

"Far enough to stay hidden, but close enough to keep a steady eye on the situation, obviously. Now where is the perfect place in all of Albion for that?"

"Driftwood," Reaver lazily guessed, his eyes shut as he tried to enjoy the water.

"No, Bowerstone Industrial."

Reaver winced at the mention of his domain. "How do you figure?"

"Well the upper part of Bowerstone is too high class and too close to the castle. Anything outside of the region would be too far. But if Industrial is as you have described it, then it would be the perfect place for several dozen rebels to run about and hide. They would blend in with the locals, they have the sewers to hide in, and it's pretty much right next to the middle of everything. All the information they need on the king and his plans is practically sitting around the corner."

The tall man ran a wet hand through his hair, brushing it out of his dark eyes before he pinned her with a full glare. "Why are you deducing this for me?"

"I thought of it while I was trapped in that cage," Lily said, ignoring his question. "I was too mad to bring it up earlier." She smiled as innocently as she could. "Don't get mad, because you almost killed me."

Reaver growled. "Just tell me."

"I want to go to Bowerstone Industrial."

"Why?"

"To find the prince and his friends, obviously."

"You have no idea where they could be hiding there."

"The place isn't so huge, and I would mostly be scouring the sewers. That's where they would probably hide, right?"

"Do you know what else makes it's home in the sewers?" Reaver suddenly snapped, his eyes glinting. "Blood-drinking bats, hobs of all sizes, bandits, even the occasional balverine that gets trapped down there. Not to mention the diseases floating in that rancid water, and the gangs that also use the sewers as their hide away hole. You would end up face down in a ditch before you would even get near the rebel camp."

"Do you know where it is?"

"What? Of course not." Reaver leaned back and closed his eyes. "Nor do I care. It does not concern me."

"It will concern you when this revolution goes sour and you find that black lady coming at your throat."

He simply looked at her, his eyes describing the many ways he could easily dispatch the nuisance.

"Reaver..." Lily frowned at him. "That's the safest place I can go. King Logan might be hunting me right now and I need a safe place where I can elude him. The rebels are my best bet, seeing as though they've been avoiding him since the beginning of this mess."

"How are you planning on finding their camp?" Reaver grumped, tired of the conversation. "Are you planning on fighting and blundering through the sewers until you stumble across them?"

"Or I could locate one outside of their hideout and follow them back."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"I got a good look at the prince's face, and I will never forget that black woman. If I can spot either of them, I will follow them back to their base."

"You expect to find them strolling down the street?"

"I would wait for something important to them to happen. Like an announcement, an event, or-"

"An execution?" Reaver suddenly said, sitting up.

Lily looked at him, though her eyes lingered on the water running off his shoulders and chest for a minute. "Um, maybe. Why?"

He grinned. "I still don't like this. I would rather keep you here, but if you insist-"

"... and I do!"

"Indeed, I can see. I know of an execution that will be taking event in less than a week. The prince, at least, will be in attendance, I'm sure. He and the prisoner are rumored to be friends."

"Who is the prisoner?" Lily asked. The idea of attending an execution made her skin crawl, but at the same time she was... intrigued.

Reaver looked at her. "His name is Major Swift. An old soldier who has been serving the crown since Sparrow's time. He was captured and charged with aiding the rebellion, which warrants death. Are you completely sure about this? It's going to be dangerous."

Lily nodded and grinned wickedly. "What's the use of being a hero if I can't get in a good fight now and then? I'm up to it, I promise."

The tall man suddenly dunked his head into the water, throwing his head back and splashing the entire room in the process. "Ah, that's refreshing. Very well then. I will help you pack."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Heavens no!" Reaver scoffed, stepping out of the tub. He turned and offered his hand to Lily as she moved to quit the water as well. "If anyone saw us together you wouldn't take three steps into their camp. They would mow you down the moment they saw your face."

"You could wear a disguise," Lily suggested, reaching up and covering the tattoo with her small hand. "We would have to cover this up, maybe cut your hair, definitely find you new clothes."

Reaver took her hands and smiled at her effort. "Lily, I am the most-known face in Albion. You cannot disguise me."

"Then we will cover your face!" Lily declared, wrapping a towel around his head before he could react. She quickly regretted the decision when he snatched her wrist away painfully, but laughed all the same. "You baby, don't fuss about it."

"It is a ridiculous notion, your tiny brain has conceived," he growled at her, rubbing his jaw to check for stubble. "If I were to cover my face they would ask me to show it, obviously. Care to try again?"

"Does that mean you'll actually attempt to come with me?" Lily asked eagerly.

He sighed. "At least as far as Industrial. I have a ship docked there that is under repair any way. I suppose I can use the trip to check on the workers."

Lily sighed. "Can I still try to disguise you?"

He glared at her. "Absolutely not."

XxX

Lily giggled as she pulled Reaver's hair more over his eyes, hiding the dark orbs from view as best she could. She had dressed him in some simple sailor clothes she found thrown in the back of his most unused wardrobe, slapped a bandage over the tattoo on his cheek and was now trying to tease his hair into an unrecognizable mess. She brushed the hair back again and glared, pondering the most different, yet not ridiculous way she could style it.

"I know!"

Reaver's eyes widened and he snatched her wrist as she held up the scissors. "I told you, cut my hair and I will end you."

Lily tore away from him and snipped a piece of green fabric from a nearby pillowcase. "Hush, you big baby. I wasn't going to cut your precious hair." She pulled as much of his hair as possible toward the back of his head and tied it in a tiny ponytail, letting what wouldn't hold fall back into place. "Not too bad," she mused, then went to the front of him. She brushed most of the strands to either side of his face, braiding a few small sections back toward the ponytail. "If you would let me dye your hair, this would be perfect," she mused, looking at the result.

Reaver snorted and tossed his head toward the mirror, surprised at how well his hair stayed in place. Turning his neck from side to side he observed the do with mild surprise. It looked similar to how he wore it when he was very young, back when he was sailing to become the pirate king. He had abandoned the look for the messy waves his hair naturally took when he claimed the title, but seeing his hair this way brought back memories. And honestly, he barely recognized himself. He saw his young, seafaring face in the mirror, staring blankly at him, as if accusing him for what he had become.

Lily stepped back as Reaver turned away and quietly put a hand against his forehead. "Do you not like it?"

"No, it's brilliant," he said, in a quiet, strange voice.

The girl knelt and looked up into his face. "Are you alright?"

He flashed his infamous grin at her. "But of course. I still detest this entire situation however."

"You promised you would let me do it after the tricks I tried on you last night," Lily reminded him, pushing him back in the chair and pulling his long drawer of makeup. "Avo, where did you get all of this?"

"Women sometimes leave their things here," Reaver said in his quiet voice, looking at his face in the mirror. "I put their face paints and other things in there."

The black-haired girl nodded and pulled out several jars, setting them on the vanity. "I see. Turn this way."

He looked at her and smiled briefly, before letting his face drop and closing his eyes.

"First we have to cover these dark rings around your eyes. I can't understand how you can sleep so much and still have such black circles. One would think you were some terrible creature of the night."

"But I am a terrible creature of the night."

"Yes, I know. I didn't mean it like that, you tard. Well... let's add a little bit of this... that works nicely. Oh, that's a bit too light... there we go."

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a makeover. Sit still."

Reaver sighed and shifted into a slightly more comfortable position.

"That's better. Now let's flesh out your eyebrows a bit... okay and give you a ruddy sunburn... haha, it looks like so much sun damage! This is fun..."

Reaver's eyes snapped open and he strained to look in the mirror.

"Tisk! Not until I'm done! Now let's add a bit of color here to thin out your lips... try to make your chin a little sharper... oooh, I will give you a scar peeping out of the bandage. That will be neat. Hmmm... I was wrong, it looks silly. Mmmkay... oh my word, your cheeks are actually sunken... let's just make them look a little fuller... there we are. Your chin needs to lose that indent... your nose needs to be a little crooked... give you a little dark spot on your neck... haha, that's cute."

The tall man began twitching beneath the hands of his makeup artist, itching to see how she had mutilated him. "Hurry up," he growled.

"Patience," she snipped, rubbing something over the hinge of his jaw. "You can't rush art."

"This isn't art, it's torture."

"I know you consider torture a form of art, so hush."

After about half-an-hour, Lily turned him so he could look into the mirror.

Reaver opened his eyes slowly, dreading what he might see. He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes worked, and stared. The person in the mirror was almost a stranger. He leaned forward and examined the details she had laid into his face, his demeanor frozen.

"Well?" Lily asked nervously. She didn't know what to expect. She tried mostly to model him after the very young Reaver in their dream, with a few modifications to change him a bit more.

The man leaned back and let out a long breath. "I haven't looked this young in three-hundred years." He turned his black eyes on her. "You did a wonderful job. I doubt my most loyal fan could identify me now. You've convinced me. I will go with you."

Lily smiled and pressed her hands together. "You're sure?"

Reaver stood and nodded, pulling on a worn leather jacket and seafaring gauntlets. He then pulled on a tall pair of brown leather boots and reached for his red and gold shirt.

"We're supposed to look inconspicuous," Lily reminded him, pulling the bright clothing away from him.

"With you looking like such a tart?" he teased, glancing over her favorite outfit. It was the one he had bought for her in Bowerstone market. The shirt was so sheer her black and red bra was visible underneath, though mostly hidden by the silvery-gray shawl that flowed around her shoulders. The striking red collar sometimes took him by surprise as it could resemble an open wound on her white skin. The shirt ended just beneath her breasts, tied in place with a red braided cord and revealing her curvy, pale waist, hips and belly. The skirt sat low on her hips, the red sash modified slightly to hang generously over her left leg, but leaving the right one mostly exposed from her upper thigh down. If she were to bend over, one could see a pair of lacy red undies peeping out from under the black skirt, which Reaver adored. Her ass was her best feature, in his opinion. It was full and curvy, but not too large, with tiny dimples that sit right above the cheeks in the small of her back.

Lily smirked at him, then sighed. "Fine. But just the shirt. Make everything else black so we can be stealthy if we need to be."

"How do you intend on being stealthy, as you say?"

Lily suddenly tied a huge black cape around her shoulders. She pulled the hood over her head, then gathered herself inside the masses of fabric, stooping slightly so the hem pooled on the ground. "Will this work, you think?"

"It's going to get filthy."

"That's why people wash their clothes. Because they get dirty. Now get into your clothes and stop grinning like a naked idiot. I swear, you live to be unclothed."

"On occasion," he chuckled, pulling the black pants on. The rough material scraped over his legs, making his eyes cloud over with memories of being at sea. He quickly shook himself to dispel the visions and pulled the dark red, almost purple, shirt over his shoulders, buttoning it to several inches below his collarbone for the swagger effect. He pulled the heavy black coat on, then the black boots, and wrapped his hands with white cloth before pulling the black bracers over his wrists.

"Fuck," Lily said quietly, looking at him. "You look like a proper pirate." She almost jumped when he turned to face her. He was slouching slightly, and his face had a mean, but slightly bemused expression, completely finishing the outfit. The person she was looking at was a totally different person from the man she had been living with. "Well you look the part," she finally said, trying a small smile.

He nodded and looked himself over in the mirror, his eyes glazing with memories again. "We had best hurry," he said, his voice sounding far away. "The execution is in a few hours. We ought to leave now if we are traveling on foot."

Lily nodded and quickly equipped the katana Reaver had given her, then strapped a dagger to her left leg. Her pistol she holstered far back on her right hip, partially out of sight under the cape. Finally she shoved the gloves the king's guard had given her into her satchel, which hung from her left shoulder crossing to her right. She checked the contents of her bag one more time. _Gloves, check. Cigarettes, check. Tampons, sure, why not? Jewelry to sell, check. Food and drink, check and check..._

She looked up to see Reaver going through his satchel, which was much fuller than hers. "What all are you bringing."

"What we will need," he said, closing the bag. "Shall we then?"

Lily grinned almost wolfishly. "Let's shall."

Hooray! The ball is rolling! Now excuse me while I go obsessively draw the disguised Reaver like the mad, giggling fan girl that I am. Heeheeheeheehee...

Spoiler: Ermmm... I really don't know just yet. I know it will involve Reaver and Lily sneaking around in Bowerstone Industrial, but further than that, I have no clue.


	21. Joining the Rebellion

21: Joining the Rebellion

It's been a hell of a long time, hasn't it? I'm so sorry about the lack of updates, but I hope the new chapters will make up for the huge amount of lost time. Basically my laptop crapped out and it's taken me this long to fix it so I can post this story again. What's happening now is Lily and Reaver looking for the rebel base. There's some good stuff coming, so stay tuned!

Copyrights to Lionhead

Warning : Language and violence. No smut to be found here. (sadly)

-x-

Lily stopped to sit down on a wall after crossing the Bowerstone bridge. Wincing slightly, she bent to rub the leg that had been shot and glanced a peek at it. A dark, but subtle tone of purple had spread beneath the roundish scar, confirming her suspicion that something beneath the skin had begun bleeding. "Fucking hell," she hissed, pulling a gray scarf from her neck and binding it around the bruise tightly.

"How do you believe that that will help in any way?" Reaver snipped. He had forced her to sit, having noticed her limping most of the way through Industrial. "Just keep your weight off of it for a bit, and stop prodding at it, you dimwit. You will make it worse."

Lily glared up at him, marveling again at how different he looked. "Yeah, well your ten-mile hike didn't do it much good either, now did it? I was ready to stop and order a carriage, but we needed the exercise, you said." She loosened the bandage slightly and stood up, stretching. "Anyway, the execution is going to start any minute, and we need to be there to tail Princey and the wonder girl back to their hideout."

Reaver sighed and offered his arm, allowing her to lean on him as much as she would allow herself too. "Proud, stubborn, inane little dodder," he muttered offhand towards a vendor who gave him a very puzzled look. The disguised man just winked at him and kept walking, his eyes flicking over the wares.

In the distance the sound of trumpets began to blare, and announcers began pacing the street and shouting for people to gather in the palace courtyard. Lily's grip tightened around Reaver's arm and she looked up at him grimly. "Ready?"

The tall man just snorted and pulled her towards the castle, keeping a wary eye on the pedestrians. If one person recognized him, there would be troublesome questions to answer, and time would be wasted. His fingers twitched toward his gun, but he mentally bid them to be still. So far no one had given him more than a passing glance. Everyone was more concerned with what the king had to say.

The crowd quietly piled into the court yard, everyone glancing around at the guards and whispering in confused, hushed tones. Lily was surprised at how frightened most of them looked. They were eerily like a dog cowering in front of an abusive owner; always timidly awaiting the inevitable and never finding the courage to run away. She glanced around further, looking for the face of the prince or the dark woman from Reaver's party, but the crowd was too dense.

"Reaver," she hissed. "Do you see them?"

The tall man had his eyes trained on a clump further back in the crowd and nodded. "I've spotted the boy, but he is not with the girl."

"No matter, we will follow him anyway, he should still be able to lead us to his hide-"

"Traitors!"

Lily jolted at the sound of the powerful voice that cut through the crowd's whispers like a poisoned blade. She raised her eyes to spy the king standing on the balcony, staring sternly down at the crowd. "Well hello, you royal ass," she chuckled darkly as the crowd buzzed in fear.

"Yes," the king waved his hand for silence, "traitors walk amongst us. Traitors plot to put an end to us. Traitors would have you believe their cause is noble." He placed both hands on the balcony and leaned forward heavily. "They wear many masks. They may look like your friends, they may even look like your most loyal servants. This-" A man wearing a dirty shirt and torn trousers was roughly jostled onto the stage. "This is the face of a traitor."

Nearby in the crowd, a tattered blond man uttered the word, "Swift..." in a shocked voice.

The king continued, "Major Swift, a respected member of the army and sworn servant of the kingdom has plotted against us all. He was apprehended attempting to turn loyal soldiers against us, and is thus charged with espionage, treason, and conspiracy."

The blond man snorted in outrage, making Lily glance over at him. She was startled at the furious, pained look on the otherwise handsome man's face.

"Yes," King Logan balled his fist in feigned righteous wrath, glaring down at the battered soldier. "There are still others darkening our land with their betrayal. We shall hunt these traitors down, wherever they may be, and they shall suffer the same fate as Major Swift. The fate of all enemies of the crown." The king's voice had risen to an infuriated, rasping yell that was cut off by the sound of the pistol going off into the soldiers head.

Lily grimaced, but didn't look away. Her eyes stayed fixed on the man as he crumpled to the ground, but her ears were turned toward the blonde man from before.

"He has to be stopped, no matter what it takes, he has to be- come on. We need to tell the others."

The girl turned quickly to try and catch a glimpse of the man as he left and suddenly saw a flash of a familiar face. "Reaver," she yanked her companions sleeve and pointed. "It's the prince."

"I know," he growled, pulling her back. "Try not to announce to the world that we are attempting to follow them, if you would please."

Lily nodded and fell back, pulling the hood to her cloak over her head, watching the two towheaded men walk quickly towards Bowerstone Industrial. Mentally, she patted herself on the back on her deducing skills. I knew they would be in Industrial. Now let's see exactly where their hideout is.

Reaver stayed in step close behind her, keeping a wary eye on her limp that was steadily getting worse. He made a mental note to lance the wound so the blood could drain before her leg became useless, then made note of the progress of the two young men and pulled Lily aside for a moment.

"What is it?" she demanded impatiently.

"You look to be in a flurry of a rush, darling," he said in a syrupy voice. "If we make a beeline after them we look much too conspicuous. Now take a look at these pendants, and we are not leaving this stall until you have purchased one."

The girl let out an exasperated sigh, but started perusing the many rows of necklaces laid out. Her eyes landed on a slightly tarnished silver amulet that had a black-filled etching in the shape of an orchid. "This one," she said, picking it up.

"That cheap thing?" Reaver snipped, glancing at it.

"Orchids are my favorite flower, and I like silver jewelry," she quipped back, glancing back to make sure the men weren't out of sight.

The man sighed and took it from her, examining it front and back. After a few long moments he said, "very well," and handed the trinket to the vendor. "This one."

"Thirty gold pieces," the woman said curtly, holding out a filthy hand.

Lily pulled the amulet around her neck as her companion counted out the money, then took his arm and tugged at him. "Shall we move on then, sweetie?" she said in a loud, sweetened voice.

He chuckled and allowed her to pull him away from the stall, back in pursuit of the very distant pair of blondes. "As you wish, my dear."

They skirted through the streets, stopping at the occasional vendor and inconspicuously examining wares in store windows. Eventually the shopping availability ended and the two were left strolling through the streets. Lily huffed and gathered up the satchel of clothing more securely into her arms, trying to readjust the flowers that also burdened her.

"Must you insist on constantly buying me things?" she complained at her companion, hooking the string on the package of clothes more securely around her arm. "I'm practically juggling all of this shit."

Reaver nudged her and winked. "I would rather not hear complaints about the nice things I bought you, if it would please you."

Lily huffed as she finally managed to cram all of her things into the crook of one arm. "I'm not complaining about the stuff, I'm complaining about the timing. I'm gonna look real sneaky, waltzing into their base with a new dress, an arm full of flowers, and all this new jewelry hanging off me."

The tall man snorted and suddenly pulled her into a bar, plucking the flowers from her arms.

"Hey!"

He waved her off, then presented the flowers to the bar-keep, who smiled graciously and dropped them into a wooden vase. "Well thankee sir. Would ye' lahk to buy anything?"

"Gin and tonic please," the tall man said in the low, gravelly voice he had adopted. "And a bottle of wine to take with us."

The girl nodded and pulled out the bottles, watching the odd pair locate themselves near the door.

"Do you see them?" Lily said, he eyes searching the dingy streets for the pair they had been following.

"Not anymore, obviously, but I noticed the back-alley they ducked into, like frightened kittens." He chuckled at the analogy and rested a hand on the nape of Lily's neck. "There is little back there, save for a dead end and an entrance into the sewers. If we follow them back there, I can promise we will learn their location in a matter of minutes."

The bar-keep walked over to them with a tankard of gin and tonic and a bottle of dry, red wine. "Ah hopes diss is to yer lahkin," she slurred, handing over the alcohol. "One gin an' tonic for the good man, and a bottle ah wine ter go."

Lily took the wine and watched as Reaver sipped the mixture in the tankard. His nose wrinkled, but he continued drinking, taking larger drinks every time he raised it to his lips. "A sip, my girl?" he offered, holding the tankard out to her.

She took it and raised it to her lips. It tasted of wood and stale bread, but with a slight sweetness. She gulped her mouthful down and handed it back. "That's awful."

He chuckled and slugged the remaining liquid in the cup, placing it on the table with several gold coins. He flicked one at the bar-keep, landing it in her ample cleavage, and winked. "Thankee for the service, lovey."

She waved a towel at them while digging the coin out of her bodice. "Aye, and be off with ya! I'm likely to get a flurry of customers soon after that nasty execution a bit ago."

The two ducked out and walked into the alleyway the two men had gone down earlier. Reaver's eyes flicked back and forth, then stopped when he located the entrance to the sewers. It was a rusted steel door, right next to the sludgy water that flowed beneath the streets there. "Here we are, love," he whispered, pulling her towards the door.

"It's here?" She asked tentatively, pulling at the door. It slid open slowly, but quietly. Evidence that it was used heavily and someone had recently greased the tracks.

"Seems that way," the tall man hissed as he slipped inside and pulled the girl with him. "Softly as you can, now. This very well may get dangerous."

Lily nodded and rested her hand on the pistol at her hip, adjusting her blade with the arm with her satchel. "Can you fit this into your bag?" she whispered loudly.

He turned and took the clothing package from her and stuffed it into her backpack without a word. He then pressed a finger against her lips, then his lips over the top of those. "Not another word, my pet," he said softly into her mouth, before pulling back and continuing on through the sewers.

The black-haired girl wrinkled her nose at the smell. Usually she wasn't squeamish at all, but the thick, rancid air was particularly foul. It smelled not only of sewage, but also of death and every kind of rotting thing imaginable. She stepped over the body of a dead rat as she rounded a corner with her companion, then bumped into his back when he stopped suddenly.

He pulled her to the front of him and whispered into her ear, "there are lookouts up ahead. They are hiding behind the boxes and barrels. I count about seven in all. Two on the right are injured, and there is one on the left who has no weapon. We may have to fight here, so remember everything I've taught you. Do not use magic, some of those barrels have gun powder in them and I do not feel like being disintegrated today."

Lily nodded rapidly, then took a tentative step forward, Reaver following close behind.

"Stop right there!" A pudgy, middle aged man popped out from behind a box, pointing a gun at the girl's chest.

A grimy, younger man slunk out from behind a barrel, carrying a long, crooked knife and a blunderbuss. "Maybe they're lost. You lost, mates?"

A third popped up to sit on top of one of the boxes, pointing a pistol listlessly at the two. He grinned, revealing blackened teeth, and cackled. "If ye are, ye picked a bad day to get lost, me goodies."

"Maybe they're rich," another voice squeaked.

"Maybe they're spies!" croaked another.

Lily held up her hands, keeping her back close to Reaver. "We are nothing of any of that! We are here to help!"

The first man stepped forward, keeping his gun trained on her chest. "Help? 'Ow do ye 'spect to help us?"

"We too have grown tired of Logan's tyranny," Lily said, a little sharply. Her eyes were hardening into icy orbs and her muscles tightened. "We wish to join the rebellion, in hopes that the prince will take the throne."

The grimy man stepped up to her as she lowered her arms and teased the knife around her throat. "How do we know you're telling the truth? Maybe Logan sent you here to say that."

"If that be the case," the black-toothed man rattled, "then I say we kill the man and keep the girl as a prize. Logan can do with one less shiny toy in his arsenal, and I say we've earned it!"

Lily put her hands on her weapons, her eyes like steel. "Believe us or not, but we would rather discuss this with the prince. If you can prove we are spies, then kill us."

A thin man with dark red hair suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from Reaver and slid his knife against her chest. As soon as she was pulled, Lily had her pistol out and pushed against the man's head. Behind her Reaver had drawn his pistol and taken a step back, ready to kill every one of them in seven easy shots.

"What's going on?" A loud, familiar voice shouted over the noise.

The first man saluted her. "Trespassers, marm. We think they might be spies from Logan."

The dark woman from Reaver's party stepped forward, her black eyes glaring at the two visitors. "They don't look like spies," she said sternly, pushing one man's weapon down. "You, girl! What is your business here?"

Lily pushed the red-head off of herself and nodded at the woman, hoping feverishly that she wouldn't recognize her from the party. "My companion and I are here to aid you in making the rebel prince king."

Page glared at her for a moment, creating an icy tension for a few moments. "Come with me."

Lily stepped toward Reaver and took his arm, pulling him to follow the dark-skinned woman.

The hideout was filthy and pitifully empty. It looked as though almost all of their force was out front, guarding the entrance. A couple of rebels sat around, reading books or staring at the new comers with glazed eyes. Lily tried to smile at a woman who was sitting with her husband, but the two simply glared blankly at them, then turned away completely.

"Friendly lot," Reaver growled, turning up his nose slightly at the rude dwellers.

"We have no reason to be friendly to strangers," the woman in front of them said bluntly. "Most are either assassins or spies, but you don't look like part of Logan's arsenal. Tell me, where are you from?"

Lily spoke up. "I am from the gypsy camp at Driftwood, and this is my companion, um, Jack." She cringed when the tall man turned his sharp eyes down on her, but continued on. "We were looking for a better life in Bowerstone, but we've found nothing but oppression and hopelessness. We heard about your endeavors to overthrow Logan, and took interest. That's why we're here."

The woman stopped at a great iron door and turned around, perusing them with her keen, dark eyes. "Gypsies? From the same camp?"

"I left my family in Mistpeak to go to Driftwood," Reaver, or "Jack", said quietly.

"That is quite a journey," the woman said, looking at him closely. "You made it to Driftwood, then just decided to leave again, with her?"

He smiled softly, and Lily marveled at how gentle he could look in his disguise. "I had a reason to leave. Maybe you would understand."

Lily smiled when he suddenly tucked her under his arm and kissed her forehead. "Stoppit," she said with a hint of a laugh. "This is serious."

"Yes it is," the woman said suddenly. "So the two of you fell in love and decided to move to Bowerstone? And you were unhappy with what you found?"

"It's a poor way to start a new life," Lily said quietly. Reaver had tensed when the word "love" was mentioned, and his arm was pinching her. "We are strong and able to help in whatever way we can."

"What is your name?"

Lily blinked. "Mine?"

"Yes, yours."

"It's Lily."

The woman nodded and cracked a tiny smile. "Good to meet you, Jack and Lily. My name is Page. I am going to introduce you to the rest of the troupe, including the prince. I would ask that you would hold your tongues in check. We just lost one of our own, as I'm sure you saw," her eyes glittered with hate, "at that carnival that our king put on." She sighed and turned around, opening the big iron door. "Come in."

Lily and Reaver stepped in, moving out of the way as the woman shut the big door behind them. Three pairs of sad eyes turned on the two of them, then Page moved to stand with her friends.

"The woman is called Lily, and that is her partner, Jack," the dark woman explained, waving at the pair. "They said they want to help aid in the rebellion."

The shortest of the three stepped forward. His face was molded into barely concealed fury and sorrow, but he managed a smile. "My name is Ben Finn, a pleasure to meet you." He nodded at Reaver and kissed Lily's hand, smiling charmingly.

"Nice to meet you," Lily said quietly, and Reaver simply nodded.

The tallest, who also sported a full beard and mustache and carried a staggeringly large sword nodded at the two. "My name is Walter. Our apologies for the welcoming party outside, we are a little on edge at the moment."

The prince stepped toward the table and smiled. "I'm sure you heard about the execution. Major Swift was one of our own, his loss is a heavy blow."

"So how do you two plan on helping?" Ben asked, leaning back against the table.

Lily shrugged and put a hand over Reaver's hand as it twitched at his Dragonstomper. "We are capable. What do you need at the moment?"

"Can you work a boat?" the prince asked, looking at Lily in an odd fashion.

Reaver grinned. "I've spent a good deal of time on boats. I could be of use."

"While you were at Driftwood, I imagine," Page clipped. She was frowning at Reaver, examining him.

Lily nodded. "We had a houseboat, for a time. That and Jack used to help as a hand with some of the boats that came around there. It was a way to make extra money."

"You can make it float towards a destination at least, can you?" Ben Finn asked eagerly.

Reaver swallowed, his hand coming to a full rest on his gun. "I can. Quite well, in fact."

The prince straightened. "Can you fight?"

Lily smiled and gestured at their weapons. "We can hold our own."

The boy suddenly drew his gun and fired it at Lily. She ticked to the right as the bullet whizzed past her and tinged off the iron door behind her. Her sword and gun were out before she had even recovered from the maneuver, both pointed meaningfully at the prince. Her smile remained lazily on her face as the rest of the room drew their weapons.

"None of this now," the girl said cheerfully, her eyes glinting with danger. "We're all friends here."

The prince smiled and lowered his gun. "So you're fast, but how well can you handle that sword?" He was up and vaulting over the table, feet aimed at Lily's chest.

She dodged out of the way so his feet connected with nothing but air and swung her sword down at his neck as he landed. His blade snicked at her hilt and knuckles, causing her to hiss and skitter back as he brought the blade towards her feet.

Lily's ear ticked as a hammer clicked into place on a familiar weapon. She turned her head back at Reaver, who had his gun pointed meaningfully at the prince. "No," she said, motioning for him to put it down. His black eyes glittered at her, and his gun remained pointed at the prince.

The boy didn't even seem to notice and took her momentary distraction as a chance to strike. He leapt up and lunged at her unguarded midriff, ready to strike her through. Lily easily parried away, leaping lightly to the top of the map table and striking down at him. He blocked several of her blows, then pulled out his gun and unexpectedly bludgeoned her legs with the handle. She fell back heavily, the mountaintop of Mistpeak bruising her shoulder blade painfully. She hissed, but rolled backwards as the prince's sword cut into the wooden ocean on the table. His blade lodged deeply into the soft, painted wood, and for a moment he struggled to remove it.

That momentary struggle was enough, and Lily had her blade to his throat and her gun to the front of his head, her foot resting on his blade so he could not lift it.

"Well done!" the large, bearded soldier chuckled, clapping his hands. "I taught the boy myself, but it appears I could have taught him better."

Lily jumped down from the table, noticing that Reaver had holstered his pistol and was grinning slightly. She smiled back at him, feeling a little proud. She turned back towards the prince and helped him remove his blade from the wood. "That wasn't easy. You know what you're doing."

"Yeah, but you beat me pretty soundly," the boy said ruefully, sheathing his blade. He grinned at Page. "What do all of you think?"

Ben chuckled. "A girl who fights like a whirlwind and a boy who can properly man a boat? Sounds like we won't be sailing with so few after all."

Lily blinked. "Sailing? Where are you sailing to?"

The prince put a finger down on the wooden map, pointing at the south most part of it. "There. We are sailing to Aurora."

Reaver stepped forward, a frown creasing his face. "Aurora?"

"Aye," the big soldier said. "We have reason to believe that we can find allies in Aurora."

"With what ship?" Reaver asked, brushing his fingers against the map table.

Ben smiled. "A travel ship is sitting in the docks right now, a pretty little sloop. They just finished fixing it up and giving it all her trimmings, so that's the one we will be taking."

Reaver's black eyes turned on the boy. "Who's ship is it?"

"One of Reavers," Page spat, her face twisting with hate. "But he had cost us so much, he cannot begrudge us one sloop. I doubt he will even know it's gone."

"Oh, I think he might," Reaver said quietly, his eyes narrowing at the dark woman.

Walter frowned. "How? He has whole fleets. Why would he notice one sloop missing?"

Lily grabbed Reaver's arm tightly. "Don't they take some sort of inventory for that sort of thing?" she asked loudly, staring at the wooden map. "But you guys are probably right, he probably won't notice. And if he does notice, I doubt he will care." She glared up at Reaver. "Right, Jack, m'dear?"

He flashed a strained smile at her. "Of course, m'pet."

Ben shoved himself off the table and grinned. "Well then, it's settled. We all catch a quick nap, rest up, vittle up, then head out and take that ship, and we'll be on our way to Aurora!"


	22. Off to Aurora

22: Off to Aurora

I'm back again with a second chapter in one day! I've got a lot more written after this but lost the chapter with the cave and the crawler. I'm gonna try to pound that out as quick as possible so I can upload all these other chapters I've got. This chapter is the flight to Albion where they steal a boat and embark on their ocean adventure. You might be surprised at the ending.

Copyrights to Lionhead.

Warning : Language, Sex, Violence, the usual

-x-

Reaver and Lily had ended up in a private little room behind the target range. Guns and raucous laughter disturbed them as they quietly ate and cleaned their weapons, but at least they were secure and alone. After a long time of shut mouths, Lily looked up at Reaver.

"Hey, um-" she paused as a flurry of gunshots went off loudly. "Uh, what do you know about Aurora?"

"Oh plenty, my pet," he said curtly. "More than you would ever know you would want to know about a country."

Lily sighed and set her weapons aside. "I shouldn't have brought you with me."

He glanced up. "Care to say that again?"

Another round of gunshots and laughter rang out and the pair rolled their eyes at the door. Lily huffed again and lit a cigarette. "This was a mistake. I'm glad I came here, but you want to kill half of these people. Not to mention you're going to get dragged onto a boat to Aurora who-knows-when to return."

Reaver snorted and looked down the sights of his Dragonstomper.

The little girl laid back on the cleanest blanket she could find and stared at the ceiling. "So maybe you should leave. I mean, you don't even want to do this, I just guilted you into it."

Reaver rolled forward so he was crouching next to her. "You honestly believe I would allow myself to be "guilted" into something I otherwise wouldn't want to do?" He rolled onto his knees and grabbed her waist with one hand, supporting his weight with his other pressed into her hair. "My sweet, I am much more self-centered than that."

Lily laughed and turned her head away. "Ah yes, so you are. How silly of me to forget."

He pulled off a glove with his teeth and pulled her chin back towards him. "Plus maybe I am using this as an opportunity to ravish you outside of the house."

Lily glared. "Are you serious? Wait, of course you are. Absolutely not-"

A long din of gunfire cut her off, and Reaver used the opportunity to push a bruising kiss onto her mouth, nipping at her lips with sharp teeth. His typical grin spread across his face when she hardly struggled and just glared at this. "What's this? Such little resistance?"

She shrugged. "You're going to take me whether I want to do it or not."

He frowned and pulled back. "Resignation? A bit out of character for you."

Her head rolled to the side again. "You should know better than to try and predict me."

"I know one part of you that is forever predictable." He chuckled, slipping a hand into her skirt. As expected, his fingers brushed against warm moisture, and he grinned triumphantly. "Don't try to deceive me, my little flower petal."

Lily smirked at him. "Nah, you'll never figure me out. I'm much more elusive than most girls. I'm mysterious." She raised an eyebrow teasingly, then squirmed as his hand moved further into her skirt. "Oy! Didn't you hear me? I'm supposed to be mysterious and confusing! Cut that out!"

He purred and licked her neck, catching the small gasp that jumped from her throat. "You're no mystery to me, my petal. Merely confused. A small thing that has not figured out what she wants."

"I wouldn't say that," Lily chirped, using her speed to suddenly slip away. Hugging close to his body, she twisted around him and pushed him to the ground, straddling his waist. "Maybe I know what I want, and it's contrary to what you have in mind."

He reclined and smiled at her, his wide cheshire smile that always made the girl shiver. "Is that so? And you've chosen not to inform your master of your plans, is that it?"

The black-haired girl returned his smile. "My master, are you? Maybe it's that attitude that keeps me from telling you things."

"Secrets?" the big man purred, pulling her by her hair toward himself. "No matter, you couldn't keep anything from me for long." He tugged his pants open as he nibbled on her neck, pulling his length out.

Lily squirmed up and away, looking down at him as he glared up at her. "What?" she laughed. "Not what you expected?"

The man growled and reared up, seizing the girl and kicking out her legs before she could react. Holding her up he lifted her and pushed her against the wall, hooking his arms underneath her legs. "Don't trifle with me, darling," he growled, pulling her panties aside. "You should know by now that I hate surprises," he licked her neck and bit her jaw sharply, "and I always retaliate."

Lily squirmed pushing on his shoulders in protest when she felt him pushing into her. "N-n-no!"

He let out a growling sigh as he fully sheathed himself in her, tilting his head back to nip at her chin. "Your body is begging yes."

She looked down, gasping lightly, then pulled open the front of her shirt, baring her breasts to him. He planted his mouth on one, purring quietly as he suckled her and slammed her against the wall behind them. A volley of gunshots went off, filling the room with booming noise and drowning out Lily's repressed cries. Reaver looked up from her breasts and scraped his teeth across her throat, making her squeak oddly. "Your resistance fell quickly," he growled, nosing at her collarbone.

She laughed lightly, arching her back. "You like it when I resist. You're a thrill seeker."

He looked up at her. "Say again?"

"I said you're a thrill seeker, which encourages me to tease you." She leaned down and kissed his forehead, then gasped and leaned back. "Uhn, not to mention you seem to enjoy practically attacking me."

"Insufferable minx!" Reaver grunted, lifting her by her ass and turning her around. He dumped her on the top of the dresser, trapping her against the wall by seizing her throat. "You needn't lie to enhance the chase. If you want for me to take you, then simply ask."

Lily choked underneath his hand, her eyes fluttering slightly as he continued to ram into her. "Nnah- uhn!"

"What was that?" Reaver laughed, loosening his grip slightly.

She gasped and turned her head to one side, glaring through watering eyes. "That hurt."

"You will forgive me," he purred, licking her exposed neck. He pushed her legs back, tucking them against her chest, grinding his hips heavily into her.

The pale girl moaned almost silently, stuffing her wrist into her mouth to silence herself from his onslaught. Her knees pressed together and she grabbed at the crook beneath them to hold them up, trying to allow more access. He took full advantage, rearing back and arching his long back as he came into her.

She looked up, blinking in disappointment. "That was short."

He laughed and pulled one of her legs straight, nipping at her thigh. "Simply a taste of what you could have, my dear, but not yet." He gestured at the door. "Those men outside stopped their target practice a while ago, and I don't doubt they've been listening in on our activities."

The girl sat bolt up, pulling down her skirt and yanking her shirt shut. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" she hissed, hopping down and reaching for a rag and water to clean herself with.

The tall man pulled the bottle of wine from earlier out of their bag and poured some into his tankard, smiling deviously to himself. "It would have been no fun, and you would have beaten me off. I don't like my Lily to be repressed."

She snorted and threw the rag into the corner, plopping down on the straw mattress they had been provided with. "Whatever," she grumbled, lighting another cigarette with the tip of her finger. "Maybe we can get a little privacy on the boat."

"Is that desire I hear?" Dark hair brushed against her face as Reaver bent close to bite lightly on her ear. "Did I leave you that unsatisfied?"

She lunged forward and took his mouth, sucking on his lower lip aggressively. A white arm snaked around his waist as he knelt in front of her, then it raised to grip his tousled black hair. The other hand was busy delving into his pants and investigating the spent unit within as the girl yanked him closer to her, snaking her tongue into his mouth. In a moment her efforts were rewarded as the member sprang to life and he thrust the rest of his body into her. The petite girl pulled back, pressing her back against the mattress as he covered her, then pushed a finger against his lips.

"Careful," she said softly. "I wouldn't want to leave you unsatisfied."

He growled deep in his throat, his eyes glinting like a predator about to take its kill. "Damnable woman," he gritted as she wrapped her legs behind the small of his back.

Her light hand stopped his before they reached his pants and she shook her head at him with a teasing grin. "Oh, no no. We have to be quiet and go to bed now. The men outside might be listening."

Reaver blinked at her once, then smiled dangerously. "Bed, no. Quiet, yes." He tore the sash off of her skirt and wrapped it suddenly around her head, effectively muting the girl. "This should make you quiet enough, no?" he chuckled darkly, flipping her over and wrapping himself around her.

XxX

Morning came and went by unnoticed by the underground squatters. The only rays of light that could be seen were a small hike away, and only a few had travelled to it to see the time of day. Most of the refugees kept quietly to themselves, completely adverse to any human relations that were offered. Dirty men, tired women and crying children speckled the halls, each looking off into the distance with a glum, disinterested look.

"Do you see what Logan has done to us?" Page said furiously, walking through the halls with Lily. "He has taken everything from the common person. Down to the clothes on our backs, we have been stripped of everything." She stopped and knelt, picking up a broken porcelain doll. "When I was little my father owned a portion of the food processing company here in Bowerstone industrial. The old hero Queen had helped him set up his own part of the plant. He specialized in vegetarian food: celery, carrots, beans and other things like that. He was never very rich, but he had enough money for our family to live comfortably." The dark woman stood, still holding the doll. "But then the queen died, Logan took the throne, and Reaver came to Bowerstone Industrial like a black hurricane, destroying everything."

Lily twitched. "Surely it wasn't that bad?"

Page scowled. "You think so? My father had one outstanding debt to the throne, and it was the tremendous amount of money the queen had loaned him. He had nearly paid it off when she died, but then Reaver sent debt collectors after my father to take the rest of the money, money my father did not have." Her black eyes turned on the pale girl, shining with anger and sadness. "The men killed my father and took my mother and younger brother to be slaves. I was left because my parents only had time to hide me before they knocked down the doors."

The pale girl blinked. "I'm sorry."

"Be sorry all you like, it doesn't change anything. Reaver took everything from me. My home, my family, everything! He possessed my father's company and turned it into a clothing mill where children are forced to work as slaves. My mother died shortly after being sold into a brothel, died beneath the rot of a man who had paid for her." Page blinked into the distance. "I heard my brother escaped to Mourningwood, but who knows if he made it, or if he could even survive in that hellish place." She quickly wiped her eyes on her arm and looked at Lily. "I'm sorry, I'm prattling about myself. I would like to hear more of why you joined us. I'm sure it wasn't easy for your family when Reaver forced the gypsies out of Millfields."

Lily smiled grimly. "I didn't have a family, just my brother, then he left to join the military. I can't remember what my mother looked like, but I do remember that I look like my father."

"What happened to your brother?"

"He died." The dark-haired girl smiled sadly, her ice blue eyes hard and dry. "They never found his body. I was left living alone with a family out of the back of a caravan. They were not kind to me."

Page put a hand on the girls shoulder, then withdrew when she flinched away. "I'm sorry. That must have been very difficult for you."

"Yeah, whatever, that's life," Lily said icily. "I learned what I needed to survive, then ran away from them."

"If you would forgive me asking," Page said, cutting her off. "Would you tell me how you got all those scars?" She gestured toward Lily's face, collarbone, hand and leg.

The black-haired girl felt the usual flare of anger at having her privacy invaded, but pressed her mouth into a tight line. "It's none of your business."

Page nodded. "I apologize. Please continue."

Lily sighed. "Well, I met Jack on the shore of Bower lake and he and I just fell in together. His family had all starved to death in Mistpeak, so he came down the mountain looking for work. You know the rest of our story."

Page nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes. So the two of you are alone?"

"Completely," Lily affirmed, looking the woman in the eye. "We have no one but ourselves."

"And you are perfectly fine with risking your life to stop Logan?"

"I would rather die in a battle for a cause than starve in the streets."

"Well said," Page said with a smile. "It's good to finally have another ready and willing blade on our side. One that doesn't have any ties back here."

Lily smiled. "Yeah, no. I've no problem with going to Aurora."

"Well that's good to hear!" Ben Finn loped into the room, his dirty blonde hair falling messily around his face. "Its' time to set sail, and we need you with us."

"Let me go find Jack," Lily said, about to turn, but Ben grabbed her shoulder.

"There's no time for that. I already sent Walter to pick him up. We gotta go now, or the prince will get way ahead of us." The jovial man winked. "And we wouldn't want him to have all the fun, now would we?"

"Well no, but," Lily looked over her shoulder while being dragged away. "I would rather wait and go with Jack-"

"Walter has grabbed him by now, and he is going to join him and Page. They're taking a different route than us." Ben hurried her past the map table and into the sewers behind another great, metal door. Further down the tunnel the prince was waiting for them, tapping his foot on the soggy ground.

"What took the two of you so long," he complained, grinning at the two of them. "I've been here for ages."

"Aye, and I would make you wait longer if I could have," Ben jibed, pulling Lily to stand between them. "And here is the girl, as you requested. I'm sure Walter, Page and Jack have made way by now."

Lily shifted uncomfortably. It was odd being away from Reaver, having no idea what was happening to him and what he might be doing. She half expected to hear the click of his gun and see the black-gloved hand pushing the barrel against the back of Ben's head for dragging her off like that. She suddenly wrinkled her nose as she realized what she was thinking. Like some idiot damsel, always wanting the big strong man to be around to save her. "Fuck that," she sneered to herself, drawing her gun as the men in front of her started to slink off. "I can take care of my own fucking self."

Ben glanced back. "What are you muttering about back there, gorgeous?"

"Nothing," she called back, then halted when the prince held up his hand. "What is it?"

The prince ticked his head toward the round in the corner. "It's heavily guarded."

Ben pushed past him with a jaunty grin. "Just leave this to me, my darlings." He strolled up to the guards, smiling disarmingly and motioning for the two to follow.

Lily exchanged a glance with the prince before nodding and following Ben towards the guards, who had spotted them and tightened their grip on their guns. The blonde-haired man seemed unconcerned and gestured welcoming at the guards.

The first guard held up his hand. "Stop! Only royal guard allowed!"

Ben smiled disarmingly and continued to walk calmly towards the man. "Oh, I know, but, um, can I say, wow! You look so stylish, what with the helmets and everything!" He chuckled and ticked his heads back at the prince and the girl. "Me and my friends were wondering if we could join up with you, so we don't feel so inadequate."

The guard scowled and snarled, "leave!"

"Oh come on!" Ben said jauntily. "Don't you have any leaflets or application forms we could take with us? If we could just get inside and get your autographs? We are huge fans!"

Lily rolled her eyes as the guard bristled with annoyance. "Leave," he growled loudly, "or we will be forced to terminate you."

Ben chuckled. "Oh, you see?" He winked at his comrades. "Even their vocabulary is stylish." He suddenly pulled out his rifle and quicker than anyone could see, shot the surprised guard in the head.

Lily jumped through the gate, pushing her body against the wall as a backing and surveyed the area with a wary eye. There was nearly a dozen soldiers who were creeping towards her and her friends, weapons held high. The prince caught her eye as he began to weave a spell, his eyes shining bright blue with the power of will. He suddenly threw out his hands and a tornado of fire ripping from his palms, tearing towards the guards like a whirlwind from hell. Lily felt herself shout in surprise, but her breath was ripped away by the vortex that tore through the soldiers, flinging them through the air while burning them alive. It was horrifying, it was barbaric, and it was...

"Beautiful," she laughed, aiming her pistol and blowing the brains out of an airborne soldier. A shudder ran through her when she realized that, other than the balverine, that was her first kill. She shook and regained herself just in time to rip out her sword, deflecting a hard blow and returning the favor to a soldier trying to take advantage of her distraction. The man grunted in her face, then coughed blood and slumped back onto the ground.

Ben Finn was a veritable sharp-shooter, his hands working to reload almost as quickly as he would fire rounds. In less then twenty seconds he had killed four soldiers with two well aimed bullets each. One in the head, one in the heart. "Fine day for a scrap, eh lass?" he shouted, laughing as he slammed the butt of his rifle into the stomach of an oncoming soldier.

"It's night time thought," Lily laughed, spinning as she avoided a gun shot. She pulled her pistol and aimed. "Off the red barrel," she howled as she fired.

The prince and Ben looked up just in time to dive away. The bullet tore into the side of the barrel, causing it to explode with a massive boom. Three soldiers flew through the air, dead before they hit the ground from the blast.

The prince sheathed his sword and nodded. "Well done, Lily, and I would have expected nothing less from you, Ben."

Lily grinned as the men clasped hands, all three of them breathing heavily after the fight. "Alright, enough man love," the girl laughed. "Let's get to the docks."

"Right," Ben said, smiling at her. "We'll have every guard in Bowerstone on our asses after that racket. We best make good time to meet Page and the others."

XxX

"There's Walter," the prince said, pointing at the impressive mountain of a man.

Lily and Ben peered past him, weary from the continuous waves of soldiers that would sprint at them screaming "traitors!" and then try to kill them. "Walter!" Lily yelled, waving her hand. "Hey!"

"What kept ya?" Ben touted cheerfully, also waving.

The large man ran toward them, his face grim. "We have to hurry," he said, slightly out of breath. "They're going to be following us after all."

Ben frowned and stayed in place. "But what about Page?"

"And what about R-Jack?" Lily followed up, frowning.

Walter turned to the small girl. "Page opted to stay behind and continue leading the rebellion."

"And Jack?"

"Page asked him to stay behind with her, but he insisted that he was needed on the ship."

"So where is he?"

Walter glanced back. "He was right behind me until a moment ago. Then the explosion went off and everything went bright and fuzzy. I'm sorry, Lily, but I lost him in the confusion."

She frowned. "He's dead?"

"No, at least, I don't think so." The large man sighed. "Just, in the confusion, I didn't see where he went. I looked for him, I promise I did, but it was like he vanished. I hope he made it to safety. Worst case is the lad got captured by Logan's soldiers."

Lily's forehead creased and she turned toward the direction where Walter had come from. "He's not dead, and he hasn't been captured. We gotta go look for him." She started to walk in that direction, but Ben grabbed her shoulder.

"Lily, we don't have time. In five minutes these docks are going to be swarming with Logan's soldiers. Jack will be fine, Page will take care of it. We've got to leave!"

She turned her hard blue eyes on the young man. "Absolutely not."

The prince took her other arm. "Right now, Lily. We either leave without you or you come with us."

The dark-haired girl tried to pull away. "I'm not leaving without him!" The two men struggled to hold her and she slipped on the moist pavement, falling back into their arms. She huffed and looked up, then noticed a figure on top of the buildings. She squinted, then recognized the proud stance, the messy black hair and the pale skin that almost glowed in the moonlight. "Reaver?"

Ben and the prince both looked up. "Well look who's here," Ben said sneeringly, releasing the girl. "If it isn't the pompous ass himself." He whipped out his rifle and took aim. "Glad to finally kill you, you rotten bastard!"

"No!" Lily shouted, jumping out of the princes arms and on top of Ben. His rifle fired off into the sky and Reaver quickly ducked out of sight, but not before sending a shot down from his Dragonstomper that cut a gouge into Ben's cheek.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" Ben howled, pushing the girl off of himself. "I could have killed him!"

Lily jumped up and yanked Ben upwards. "I- We don't have time for this right now! Plus, he nearly killed you! I knocked you out of the way so that bullet wouldn't go through your skull!"

The prince quickly helped Ben to stand and brushed him off. "She's right. If she hadn't knocked you over that bullet would have killed you."

Walter shook his head and gestured towards the sloop they were going to take. "See now? We need to get going!"

Lily turned and nodded, her jaw set hard. It was clear that Reaver had no intention of going to Aurora, and he had just communicated that very clearly to her. She was to go without him. "You're right," she said quietly, her eyes sparking with anger. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

-x-

I didn't put a closing note in the last one, so sorry.

Omg Reaver didn't get on the boat! Did he change his mind or was he fooling her the whole time? Who knows! I'm not telling! Tune in next time to see what happens with our Pretty Lily and our deviant Reaver!


	23. Stormy Seas

23: Stormy Seas

Whaaaaat?! Reaver didn't get on the boat?! Well this is gonna be boring now. Or maybe not. Have a little faith in my writing, k guys? I don't need to write smut to entertain you... right?

Lol, jk. This is a nice little chapter about the first few days on the boat, starring Lily, Walter, Ben, and the Prince. He's got no name. He's literally just Prince. Let me know how awkward that is and I might try to sub in a name, but I like leaving it open like this.

Copyrights to Lionhead.

Warning : Language, Violence, (maybe) scary scene

-x-

The ocean!

Lily had never been to the ocean before, much less on a ship! She hung on to the rail, laughing wildly as the salty wind whipped through her black hair. The ship dipped into the ocean, sending a cold splash of water straight into her face. She reeled back, wiping her face with her arm, still laughing out loud.

Ben walked up and leaned back against the rail next to her, smiling at her merriment. "How you feeling so far, beautiful?"

"It's amazing!" she shouted, leaning far over the rail. "I've never sailed before! It's so windy, and smells so fresh!" She laughed again, catching at the waves as they splashed against the boat. "This is marvelous! I love sailing!"

The jovial blonde chuckled, then reached out to catch her waist as she nearly topped over the rail. "Whoopsy, careful now. We don't want to have to scoop you out of the water because you went leaping in."

She giggled as he pulled her back onto the ship and collapsed against his chest. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It would be a short trip if that happened." She tried to pull away, but Ben was holding her securely. "Excuse me, Mr. Finn."

He chuckled. "Yes, m'lady?"

"You can release me now, I'm quite safe."

"Not safe from me," the handsome man said, spinning her away from himself and letting go at the last moment. "But very well. I'm going to go check up on Walter in the mess. I shudder to think of what kind of things he is brewing up for us to eat."

Lily watched him go with narrowed eyes, then sighed and turned to head for the crew quarters. Ducking inside she walked to her chest and opened it, pulling out the guild seal and turning it over in her hands. She replayed the last scene on the docks in her head again, Reaver standing on top of a building out of disguise, his pistol aimed down at them. She was certain he wasn't aiming for her, but would he really have killed the others, just to save his sloop? She glanced around and smiled. It was a very pretty boat, and tasted lightly of Reavers house in a few ways.

"But why," she sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Why would he suddenly decide not to come? I thought we were in this together." She glanced up at the wall, which was painted with his infamous industrial logo. Glaring at the painting, she thrust the seal back into her bag. "What a jerk," she growled, pulling out her cloak and throwing it around her shoulders.

"Was Ben bothering you?"

Lily jumped and turned around to see the prince standing in the doorway. "Oh, it's just you." Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The young man smiled disarmingly, pushing his dark blonde hair out of his eyes. "Ben. I know that man can be an insufferable flirt. If you need me to talk to him, I will. I know you and Jack..."

"It's actually not like that," Lily said quietly. "He's just a companion, more like an older brother. We're not actually a thing."

"Really?" The prince smiled. "Ben and I had actually made a bet on that. You just caused me to lose twenty gold."

"Sorry about that," Lily snipped, moving to push past him. When he didn't move she looked up at him. "If you please."

He smiled down at her. "If we are going to travel together, we might as well be friends."

"I don't have friends," the small girl snarled, taking a step back. "I don't want any."

The prince frowned and leaned more completely in the doorway. "You weren't this hostile back in Albion. Has something happened?"

"I've always been this way," Lily grumbled, sitting on a bench and reaching to her neck to finger the silver amulet Reaver had bought her.

The young man came to sit next to her, slinging his arm over her shoulder when she made to stand. "Stay, please. I would like to talk to you."

She glared at him. "Careful, I bite."

He laughed. "So do I, from time to time. Now then, tell me about yourself."

Lily shrugged. "What is there to tell? I'm just a waif of a gypsy girl trying to help Albion."

"I don't believe that," the prince said, smiling when the girl glared at him. "But you'll tell me your true past when you're ready. Tell me about who you are. What things do you like?"

"I don't know," she said quietly, looking away. "I like music and books. I like the smell of candles and the feeling of a cool breeze on my face. My favorite colors are purple and silver, but I don't like jewelry or fancy clothing too much." She glared up at the young men. "And I hate it when people try to pry themselves into my life."

He held up his hands, smiling gently. "I'm not trying to pry, really. You're the one who forced yourself and your friend into this situation, I'm just trying to figure out why."

"I really don't know why," Lily sighed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You must have been running away from something," the prince said, tilting his head to one side. "Was it poverty, the war? Or was it something more dangerous than that?"

Lily fidgeted with her belt. "Something like that."

"Like what?"

"Like mind your own business, that's what." Lily sprang up, her blue eyes flashing angrily. "I'm here, I'm helping, what more do you want?"

The prince stood too, looking down at her. "I want to know why you are here, why you are helping us. Nobody joins our cause, "just because." They have a reason. Either they are on the run, they've lost everything, they can't feed themselves, you name it. But nobody has joined my cause without confessing to some horrible strain of suffering my brother has put them through." He carefully rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, his face stern. "Not to mention, it's a loyalty thing. I need to know why you are here so I can trust you."

Lily glared up at him. "If you must know, your brother has made it clear that he wants to capture or kill me."

The prince frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know," Lily sighed. "I've never done anything to get on his bad side. His guards just showed up asking about me one day, so I ran. Your rebellion seemed like the safest place to go."

The prince nodded. "So you're looking for safety." He reached out and took the girl's hand, smiling at her. "I understand completely. My brother has become... unstable. He imprisons and executes people for no good reason. I promise, you will be safe with me."

Lily smiled falteringly at him, pulling her hand back. "Thanks. I can take care of myself though. I might even end up saving your life a few times before this is over."

He laughed, his young face creased with his smile. "I would be very appreciative, I'm sure."

A knock on the door frame made the both of them turn. Walter was standing there, his face stern. "There's a storm brewing. We need to drop canvas and lash the wheel down."

The prince nodded. "Alright. I'm not sure how much help I can be though. I don't know much about ships. Do you, Lily?"

She shook her head. "No, but R- er, Jack does. I wish he were here."

"Well he's not," Ben quipped, peeking past Walter. "So we've got to do this the best we can. I'm sure it's not as hard as it looks."

-X-

Lily shielded her eyes from the pounding rain, training her eyes on the loose rope flopping against the nearby mask. She clung to the rope ladder perilously, steeling herself for a moment, then flung herself into open space, grabbing for the rope. Someone on the deck beneath her shouted as she somehow managed to latch her hands onto the rope, the momentum flinging her forward and slamming her into the mast. She gasped, the wind momentarily knocked out of her, then gritted her teeth and braced her feet against the rough wood.

"Lily!" the prince howled against the wood. "It's fine, get down here! You're going to get yourself killed!"

Lily ignored him, carefully scaling the mast as quickly as the slick wood would allow. She was supposed to lash the rope to to spar where the sails were tied so they would stay furled. Her goal was in sight, but the rain was getting heavier and the wind stronger. She gripped the rope tighter, hauling herself the last few feet to her goal. Pulling herself onto the plank, she quickly lashed the rope in place, tying it up and over and around like Ben taught her. As soon as she was sure it was secure she began glancing around for a way to get down. The rope ladder swayed nearby in the wind, but she would have to climb out over the plank and around the sails if she wanted to get to it. With a gulp, she ventured toward the ladder carefully.

The prince put a hand over his eyes, staring at the daring girl. "Lily! Get down here as quick as you can, and be careful!"

"Get in here!" Walter hollered from the kitchen, gesturing at the prince. "It's hell out there, you'll catch your death!"

Lily glanced down at the unmoving man who was watching her and waved. "I'm fine!" she yelled, gripping the sail next to her. "I'll be down in a minute! Go inside!" She continued climbing out over the plank, when her foot got tangled in the sail behind her. "Goddamn it," she yelled, turning and trying to wrench her foot free.

A gust of wind a hurricane would have been proud of suddenly smashed into her, effectively propelling her off her perch and leaving her hanging by her now-twisted ankle. She howled once in pain, then flung herself up, grabbing onto whatever she could reach to pull herself up. Unfortunately, what she grabbed was the portion of rope holding her foot in place, sending her leg flailing free.

"OH FUCK! OH FUCK! OH FUCK!" Lily screamed, holding onto the rope desperately, aware that her tired fingers were slipping. She tried to fling her other arm up to grab on to something, but the counter momentum combined with the wind and rain ripped her fingers free from the rope she was holding, flinging her into space.

-X-

"Will she be alright?"

"It's hard to say, that was a long fall. You were the only reason she didn't splatter across the deck."

"Aye, and I must say, she doesn't look very soft to have dropped on your head like that."

"I told you, I'm fine. I just wish I could have actually caught her, rather than have her land on my back like that."

"You did the best thing you could have done under the circumstances, and because of it, she survived."

Lily sighed and opened her eyes. "Yeah, barely."

"By my blade!" Walter exclaimed, sitting back in surprise.

The prince reached out and caught her in a hug, laughing. "Praise Avo you're alright!

She smiled and pushed him off, stretching painfully. "Ah-rg, I wouldn't say that, but I'm alive."

"It's a miracle you even survived the fall," Walter said gravely, shaking his head in awe. "Much less that you're awake and kicking."

Ben grinned and stuck a long pipe between his teeth. "I knew she would be fine. The little slip is tougher than she looks."

Lily reached out for the pipe. "Let me chief on that." She took the piece and stuck it between her teeth, taking several long puffs. "That's good shit," she muttered past the stem, looking up at her observers. "Well what are you all looking at? I'm fine, just a little stiff, that's all."

The prince nodded and smiled. "That's good to hear. Are you up for some grub? Walter cooked up some chili that's not half bad."

Lily nodded and handed the pipe back to Ben, blowing a smoke ring into the air. "That actually sounds really good."

Walter stood and smiled. "Well then, I'll go get you a bowl. We've gotta make sure you make a full recovery, after all." He strode away into the back of the mess, snatching a wooden bowl on the way.

Ben put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're sure you're alright? That was a long fall. It would have killed anyone else."

She grinned crookedly at him, her scar creasing the left side of her face. "Like you said, I'm tougher than I look."

"I figured," the prince said cryptically, looked at her oddly. "You're something more than you appear to be."

"Not really," she muttered, wincing as she pushed herself up. "I'm just the same as any of you. I can take some knocks though."

"Ah, but our young prince here is something special," Ben said with a wink. "He's a full-blooded hero, just like his mother. That's why he's the one going to take his fat-headed brother's throne."

Lily glanced at the prince, who was looking at the gauntlets on his hands. She frowned and shifted slightly, watching his face. He doesn't want the throne, she thought sympathetically. Either that or he doesn't want to kill or imprison his brother. "Tell me about Logan," she said suddenly, scooting closer to the young man.

He looked up at her. "Why?"

"You know him better than anyone, you're his brother." Lily smiled. "Tell me what he's like."

The young man smiled and looked back at his hands in his lap. "He really is a good person. When I was younger I remember him playing with me, giving me piggy-back rides and pretending to be heroes like my mother. We would go on picnics and play pranks on the servants all the time, driving our poor mother to the point of distraction." He chuckled quietly at the memories, then fell quiet for a moment. "Then... then our mother died. I was about seven or eight and Logan was only sixteen when he had to inherit the throne. He hugged me and comforted me until the crown was placed on his head, then he suddenly became distant."

Lily frowned. "Distant, how?"

"He no longer played with me or read me stories, he just stayed to himself in the throne room all the time. When I was upset and ran crying to him, he would hold me for a few minutes, then push me away and tell me to grow up." The young man blinked a few times and shook his head. "Then he went to Aurora with a force of five-score men, ready to explore the country and welcome the people there as part of Albion. He came back with only three men and a haunted look in his eyes, and Aurora was ordered to be forgotten. I tried asking him about what it was like there, but he would always get this dark look and shout at me to leave him alone. He changed," the young man gulped and flexed his hands in the gauntlets. "The man on the throne now, that's not my brother. I know he is still there, somewhere inside of his scarred, warped mind, but I can't see him anymore. Now he is just some tyrant that kills wantonly and without thought."

Lily reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure your brother is still in there, and still loves you. Something terrible must have happened in Aurora. My brother was the same way when he came back from war, just not as... dramatic."

The prince smiled at her thankfully. "I know. I know he is still my brother, and as much as I want to hate him for everything he has done to innocent people, I just can't. I still love him, he's the only family I have left."

Walter reached out to hand a bowl of chili to Lily, then put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Don't forget me, and Ben and Page and the others. We're your family too now, and Lily as well."

Ben smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "We're always here for ya, mate."

Lily coughed and gingerly swallowed her bite of chili. "Kyaaah! Augh... that shit's spicy!"

The three men laughed as she choked down the bite, the jovial sound nearly muted by the storm raging outside.

-x-

That was fun! A little Lily abuse and scary situations always make a dull part of a story better. Next chapter we'll be arriving in Aurora and we'll see our favorite gunslinger again! How? You'll have to see!


	24. Deep Sea Squabble

24: Deep Sea Squabble

So the game doesn't make it apparent at all how long it took to get to Aurora, so just imagine a "Time Passes" title card at the beginning of this, maybe with Spongebob music if you like that. Yes, Reaver is back and in this chapter, but no, he won't be in the next one. Sorry. :/ We should be landing in Aurora at the end of this chapter, but that's all I'm gonna say for now.

Copyright Lionhead blahblahblah.

Warning: Language, Violence

-x-

"War ships, coming up on us from the north!"

Lily rolled out of her hammock, growling in pain when he kneecaps cracked on the wooden floor. "What's happened?" she slurred, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

The prince reached down and pulled her up forcefully, his face grim. "Ben spotted a damn fleet of my brother's ships, sailing towards us fast. They look like they have a lot of guns. We think they mean to sink us."

Lily blinked at him, then scowled. "You've got to be kidding! We had such a head start on them, how did they catch us?"

"We don't know how to sail a ship like this," the prince said glumly, pulling a black leather vest on over his silk white shirt. "They've got experienced sailors that know the tides and the wind. It's more of a wonder that it took them this long to catch up to us."

Lily yanked her clothes on and began throwing her things into her bag, just in case. "Bloody fuck, they're going to sink us!" She looked back at the prince who was strapping his pistol to his thigh. "Your brother wouldn't want to kill you, would he? He would take us prisoners, right?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't know, but they look like they mean business."

The black-haired girl slung her bag over her shoulder and sprinted outside, glaring against the sun up at the mask. "Ben!" she hollered, waving her arm. "Who is at the head of the fleet?!"

He hailed her from the crows nest, his entire demeanor unhappy. "It's Reaver's flagship. Logan sent him personally to hunt us down!"

Lily growled and ran to the back of the ship, peering at the distant vessels. "He's going to fucking kill us," she murmured furiously. "The bastard is going to kill us." She looked back up at the crows nest. "Ben! Do they look ready to kill or capture?!"

"They have all their guns out and primed," the blonde-haired man shouted back down. "They look ready to sink and kill!"

Walter stepped up next to the young girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry it had to end this way, young one."

She snarled and thrust herself away from the rail. "Like fucking hell we're going to die here! Ben, let down all the sails! Get bedsheets, pillowcases, hankies, anything! Every scrap of cloth needs to go up! Walter, you go get the prince and take him under to prime the cannons! Call for me when they're ready to fire." She ran to the mast and began pulling herself up a rope ladder to start letting canvas down. "We're not going to go down without a fight. If they're going to sink us, we're going to take at least a few of the fuckers down with us." She waved her arm in salute at the men. "To the depths!"

"Bloody right!" Ben shouted, leaping from the crows nest to start working on the sails. "To the depths indeed! Let's give 'em hell!"

Lily sprang lightly from knot to know, letting all the sails loose. When the last one was undone, she seized the rope that had tied it down, wrapped her hands in her sash, and slid down the thick rope to land roughly on the deck. She winced, her sprained ankle twinging slightly, but she ignored it and ran to tie down the flailing ropes.

"Lily!"

The girl looked up from lashing down a rope. "Aye, Ben?"

The blonde hailed her. "They're coming up fast. Even with the canvas up we can't outrun them!"

"We don't need to outrun them," she howled, giving the rope a final tug and scurrying to the next one. She leapt into the air to catch it, her heart jumping into her throat as her momentum sent her sailing over the open water for a moment. She touched back down on the deck, rushing to tie the rope in place. "We just need time to ready ourselves to fight them!"

After the last sail was tied in place she ran back to the rear rail, squinting at the rapidly approaching fleet. She let out an outraged growl when she managed to distinguish the captain of the leading ship. A very tall man with raven black hair and pale skin wearing a white silk shirt and a red, embroidered vest. "Reaver," she growled. "First you abandon me, now you're trying to kill me? The fuck?"

Walter tapped her shoulder, making her jump and whirl around. "What?" she gasped, her face pale with fury.

He motioned towards the hatch that led to the belly of the ship. "The guns are primed and ready to fire. How long should we wait?"

The black-haired girl turned back to the approaching fleet, seething quietly. "Take Ben and the prince below with you. Two guns to a man. Keep them loaded and ready to fire. I'll shout down when it's time to light the fuses." She glared up at the huge man. "Go!"

He nodded and rushed to gather up Ben, shouting back, "I hope you know what you're doing. I'm not afraid to die, but I'd bloody well like not to be blown to bits or drown horribly."

Lily smiled at his back, her grin toothy and unsettling. She chose not to reply to Walter, but instead murmured to herself, "I'm sorry, but we will most likely die." She turned back to look at the fleet, glaring hard at the captain of the flag ship. "I've never heard of him taking prisoners, the bastard." She gnashed her teeth in wordless fury, the edges of her vision going red. "I swear to the gods, existent or no, I will put a bullet through this fuckers head."

A pistol crack rang out over the water and a lock of her hair was ripped off by the resulting bullet. She didn't even flinch, but sneered and waved her arm. "Missed me!" she howled. The flagship couldn't be more than twenty meters away and she could see the pompous man clearly now.

His laugh rang back faintly to the ship and he called out, "Now now, my dear, you know I never miss!"

She raised her hand high in a less-than-polite gesture, then ran to the wheel, calling down to Walter, "Everyone ready down there?"

"Everything's set, lassie!" Ben called back up. "It's your call from here on out!"

She glanced back at the fast-approaching ships, noticing the direction it was coming in. "He's gonna slip up next to us and fuck us with those guns before we can do anything," she growled, testing the wheel. She dashed to the hatch and yelled down, "Hold on down there, I'm pulling a one-eighty!"

"What the hell is a-?" Ben yelled back up, but she had already sprinted back to the wheel.

Lily grabbed the wheel, wrenching it to the right as hard as she could. The ship lurched, nearly throwing her off her feet as the ship rocked hard and dipped slightly into the ocean. She could hear the men yelling below as the ship regained itself and bucked against the waves. "Hold onto something and be ready to fire!"

The ship groaned as it dipped sideways into the ocean, nearly capsizing from the strain of turning so hard. Lily spun the wheel again, hoping fiercely that the ship would right itself. After a gut-gripping moment and a large splash of water soaking the deck, the ship lurched back up, now heading straight for Reaver's flagship. She lashed the wheel in place and sprinted below deck. "Everyone ready to fire?"

"Whenever you call it, lass!" Ben shouted back.

Walter waved. "On your call."

Lily looked up. The war ship was bearing down on them, so close that she could clearly see the faces of the sailors staring back at them. Reaver was leaning against the rail of the ship, waggling his fingers at her. "Hello darling," he called over. "Care to let me come aboard?"

She smirked at him. "Try it, sweety." The ships were nearly next to each other now, and Lily sprang to let down the anchor. "When you feel the ship stopping, fire!" She shouted down at the boys. The anchor went down with a splash and pulled the flailing rope with it, only to sharply pull taught and jerk the ship to a creaking stop. Reaver's ship had let down anchor as well, and now the two were glaring at each other.

With a startling roar, the cannons beneath Lily's feet went off, sending the girl sprawling on her hands and knees. Another clapping roar signaled Reaver's ship firing, and Lily curled up as the ship screamed at the impact. She jumped up and peeked below deck. "Are we alright?"

Walter looked up woefully. "We're ready to fire again, but water is coming in on both sides. We're sinking!"

Lily nodded. "Fire again, and Ben, come help me prepare the lifeboat."

Ben scampered back up onto the deck with her, running to the lifeboat as Lily ran to grab her bag. As she was running back out, the cannons fired beneath her feet again, causing her to stop and grab hold of the mast. She glanced over at Reaver's ship and saw the deviant leaning on the rail again, smoking a pipe.

He winked and waved at her again, then raised his hand to fire.

"Stop!" Lily howled, running to the rail.

He tilted his head to one side, grinning irrepressibly. "Now, why would I want to do that?"

"Why are you hunting us?" Lily shouted, trying to ignore the smug look on his face.

"You should know, my dear." He shook his head and tutted at her. "You stole one of the king's ships, intending to use it for the purpose of the rebellion. Oh, and by the king's ship, I do mean my ship." His dark eyes glinted as he puffed on his pipe. "So now you have a choice, and your little friends as well, I suppose." He turned and took a few paces up the side of the ship, still grinning at her. "Either you can surrender and allow us to tow the ship and yourselves back to Albion, where you will be imprisoned and punished, or we can sink you." He smiled and leaned on the rail again, sticking the pipe between his teeth. "It's up to you, little Lily."

Ben placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "I think we all know the answer to that, don't we?" he whispered in her ear. "The life boat is ready, but I don't know how far we will get if they're bent on capturing us."

Lily glared back at him. "Get the others to the lifeboat, before he fires on us again. Gather up some supplies too, as much as you can carry. I'm going to give this ass a nasty surprise."

"I'm waiting my dear," Reaver called over, forehead creasing impatiently. "What will it be? I can promise there would not be a dull moment if you came aboard with my crew and I. We're really quite civil people, though I may have to punish you for being so lawless."

"No thanks!" Lily called over, right before checking to make sure no one was watching and volleying six fireballs onto the deck of his ship. She turned and ducked as a shot fired and burst through the wood above her head. "Take that, you flopping muff!" She giggled at the string of swears that came hurtling back at her, then sprinted for the lifeboat.

"What in all hell is a flopping muff?" Ben exclaimed as she jumped into the boat.

"Damned if I know," she replied. "It just sounded fun to say, and it was!"

Walter grunted as he lowered them down, frowning as another volley of cannon fire burst from Reaver's ship. "I admire your spirit," he grunted at Lily, "but I think you might have really pissed him off!"

The group yelled and ducked as a ball burst through the wall of the ship and crashed into the ocean behind them. "Let us down faster, Walter!" The prince shouted, brushing splinters from his hair.

"I'm letting us out as fast as I can!" Walter shouted, straining at keeping hold of the rope.

After a few tense moments, the small boat finally hit the water, and the four looked at each other blankly.

"We're sitting ducks now!" Ben suddenly exploded, casting around the tiny boat for something to propel it with.

Lily leaned over and whispered something into the prince's ear, then ticked her head forward as he replied. After a few rounds of whispered exchange the two moved to the back of the boat and looked at the water.

"Do you think it will work?" The prince asked, looking at the small girl worriedly.

"If you can control it, I know it will."

The prince let out a deep breath and plunged one of his gloved hands into the water. After a still moment his eyes narrowed, the tattoo on his arm glowed bright blue, and a massive whirlwind spewed from his fingertips, rocketing them away from the ship.

"Woah!" Walter gasped, grabbing onto the side of the ship. "Better hold on, this is going to get rough!"

Lily laughed loudly, looking back to see a plume of smoke rising from the other side of the sinking ship. "Can anyone see the mainland?"

"I spotted it earlier to the southeast," Ben shouted, pointing in a slightly different direction than they were going. "If we can keep this up for a few hours, we should be able to see the Aurora clearly!"

Lily leaned over and touched the prince's shoulder. "You doing alright?"

His face was tense, but he nodded. "I'm alright. I think I can get us as far as Ben said, but I might have to rest a bit on the way."

"Understood." Lily patted his shoulder. "Just do your best."

XxX

Several hours later the shore line of Aurora was clear on the horizon, but the prince was leaning back in the boat, gasping for air.

"Come on lad, just a little longer. We're nearly there!" Ben exclaimed, helping the younger man take a drink of water.

"I can't," the prince gasped. "I- I'm sorry. I just- just can't."

Walter smacked his fist down on the side of the boat. "It's alright! The boy's done enough. We need to find another way to make it to shore."

"We're going to have to do it fast then." Ben said gravely, lowering his telescope. "There's another ship bearing down on us, and I'm guessing the captain is mad as hell."

Lily scooted over to where he was. "You're joking."

Ben silently handed her the telescope and pointed. After taking a peep, the small girl dropped the telescope into her lap and sighed. "Dammit, Ben's right. It's not the flag ship, but I'll bet the captain is the same." She looked up at the worried faces around her. "We've gotta find a way to get this boat to shore, or we're done."

The prince sat up a little, his face going pale at the movement. "I'm sure... I can take us... a little farther- ugh!" He slumped back holding his chest and panting.

"No, Walter is right. You've done enough." Lily looked up. "We have room for one sail. Are there any on the boat, Ben?"

The young soldier held up a piece of sailcloth. "Aye. I'll rig it up, then."

Lily smiled and dipped her hand into the water. "There's no oars, I know that, but it looks like we've got a gentle current here that will pull us towards shore. With the help of the sail, things should be a bit quicker. Is there anything in here we could make a couple of paddles with?"

Walter tapped on the wooden benches. "We could rip these out and cut them into shape. Each one should make two paddles."

Lily nodded. "We could do that, but it would be hard to paddle with no seats. Maybe pull up one so we can have two for later. Until then, let's see how the wind shifts us."l

A few hours later and the shore hardly seemed closer. The ship approaching them, however, was closing in. Lily sighed and looked over at Walter. "You might want to break up another seat, Walter. We're going to need to row to shore before that boat catches us."

The prince sat up. He was still a bit pale and his breath catchy, but he smiled eagerly. "I think I can get us to shore. I'm up to it."

Lily shook her head. "Not unless it's our last option. You still look peaky."

Ben turned. "They'll be on us in less than thirty minutes. It might be our last option now!"

The small girl turned to respond, but a distant crack stopped her. "Oh shit..."

Like a small explosion, the bullet seemed to come from nowhere, blasting through the front bottom of the boat. Water started to gush in, and the four jumped forward to try and patch the hole.

"It's no use," Ben groaned. "The hole is too big and splintery. If we push on it, we will just make it bigger. We're going down."

Lily looked around worriedly. "Could we swim to shore?"

"It's pretty far, but we could use the paddles as floats, and we might just make it." Walter said, peering at the shoreline from under his hand. He looked back at the other three occupants.

The prince shook his head. "It's too risky. We could all drown before we get even halfway there."

Another distant crack and this time the wood next to Lily's hand burst, a wood fragment slicing her knuckle.

"Son of a bitch!" she barked, jumping up. She glared at the ship, still far off, but still dangerous. "If we stay here we will be picked off one by one. He's made that obvious." She looked down at the three. "We should swim."

Walter stood up and handed out the makeshift oars he had been working on. "Very well then. One the count of three, everyone in the water. One, two..."

Everyone glanced at each other, clutching their own oar nervously.

"Three!"

-x-

I love writing ship battles, if it isn't obvious. Also; Hi Reaver! Bye Reaver...

Yeah... he'll be back. Soon, I promise.

Next chapter is the one I lost most of with the cave and the crawler. It may take me a bit to upload it and it's probably going to be very similar to how it all plays out in the game, so if you want me to just move on and post the chapters I've got, lemme know and I'll do it.

I'm gonna write that chapter though. It's gonna happen.


	25. Darkness Incarnate

25: Darkness Incarnate

Wow I cannot believe I pumped out this whole thing in one day. This isn't the chapter I lost, it's something totally new. I like it though. It's the cave with the crawler in Aurora, and it's gonna be long. I didn't even (spoilers) get them out at the end of this chapter but I had to end it because it was so long! I hope it's not too dark, because later chapters get... worse...

Copyrights Lionhead.

Warnings: Language, Violence, Scary Situations

-x-

A lonely little shore crab crawled across the damp sand, looking for a meal. The seaweed it nibbled on earlier proved not to be to it's taste, so now it looked for something more appetizing. It stopped to investigate a chunk of wood jammed into the sand, but quickly lost interest and scuttled away. It stopped again when it saw something pink poking out of the sand and decided to take a nibble.

"Owch!" Lily grunted, jerking her hand away from the pinching crab. She rolled over, the sun burning on her face, and tried opening her eyes. The blinding light quickly convinced her to close them again and throw an arm over her face. "God dammit," she groaned, trying to sit up. Her mouth suddenly filled with hot, sticky saliva, and she lurched up and onto her side just in time to vomit a great deal of seawater and bile.

"Dammit," she said hoarsely, when she had finished retching. "That really hurt." She smacked her lips and looked around at her surroundings. It appeared she had landed on a beach at the foot of a cliff. Great rocks loomed around her, hiding the turns of the shoreline from her vision. She shakily tried pulling herself to her feet, stumbling back until her back hit one of the great rocks. She pushed herself up, using the rock as a brace, and took a look around.

"Hello?" she called, then coughed, the seawater still burning her throat. "I need water," she croaked, falling to her knees and casting about. Her backpack was miraculously hanging from a nearby chunk of wood, dangling just out of reach of the waves. "Oh thank heavens." She gasped, stumbling towards it. She grabbed hold of her pack and struggled back to the rocks at the bottom, falling in a miserable heap all over herself.

She fumbled with the backpack until she managed to open the top, then turned it over and dumped out the contents. Shifting things from one side to another, she quickly found and seized the canteen of water, unscrewing the top she gulped at the water greedily, trying not to spill, but not succeeding well. She let out a relieved breath, then grabbed at the satchel that had her food in it. The bread was ruined, and there wasn't saving any of the dried meat, but the fruit looked good. She snatched up an apple and a few sticks of celery, eagerly taking large bites of both.

"Oy!"

Lily turned around, startled, her mouth full of apple and celery. "What?" she garbled past the food.

"Are you going to share that?" The prince stumbled into view, grinning wearily. "I lost my pack, and I've been dying for a sip of water and a bite of food." He collapsed next to her and smiled. "Would you be so kind as to share?"

"Sure," Lily said after swallowing. She handed him the canteen and a green apple. "Good to see you're alright," she said with a smile. She took another bite of celery and apple, swallowing after chewing thoroughly. "Have you seen any of the others?"

He shook his head, swallowing a large mouthful of water. "Ahhh! That's good stuff. No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any sign of Walter or Ben."

Lily sighed and took another look through her things. She pulled out one of her water proof bags and smiled happily. "Thank goodness," she said and popped a cigarette in her mouth.

The prince looked down and shook his head. "Maybe the others got washed up on a different shoreline. They can't be too far from here though." He gestured at the beach behind him and looked back at Lily. "I saw some sort of cave back there. It doesn't look like there's anywhere else to go, unless you fancy another swim." He looked up at her as she exhaled heavily. "How did you light that? I didn't hear your lighter click."

Lily glanced at her cigarette. "Oh. Um... my lighter is wet, so it didn't click like it usually does."

The prince glanced at her hands. "Let me see." He looked up at her eyes and smiled. "Maybe I can get the water out."

She fumbled in her pack for a moment, then pulled out her lighter, handing it over halfheartedly. She watched as the prince tried to light it, pushing down on the switch that put out the flame. It clicked, but no fire appeared. He looked back up at her. "It still clicks, and it doesn't appear to be working at all."

Lily shrank back and shrugged. "It worked a minute ago."

The prince shrugged and handed the lighter back. "Got any more food in there?"

Lily peeked inside. "A few more apples, a few bits of cheese that look like they survived, a banana, and a bag of nuts and raisins." She held it out to him. "Take whatever you want."

He took the bag of nuts and the banana. "Thank you. We should move out as soon as we get our strength back."

Lily stood up and started walking towards the shore. "I'm going to get some of this wood gathered up and start a fire. I wanna dry off."

The prince stood up. "I can go to the sanctuary and get you something to wear. I might change while I'm there as well."

Lily smiled at him from dragging a large piece of wood towards where he stood. "Sounds great. No dresses or anything, get me something practical." She turned back to her task, grunting in effort. Before she could drag the log back to their modest camp, the prince was back in a fresh outfit and another hanging on his arm. She looked up and smiled. "Oh, brilliant. So you take care of the log and I'll change." She took the clothes from him and walked over to a nearby rock to change behind.

The prince smiled and shrugged, then grabbed the log and finished dragging it to where it needed to go, then began digging a pit to put it in. He looked up when Lily came back, draping her clothes on some rocks near the makeshift fire pit. She turned around, adjusting the outfit a bit. "Well, at least it fits," she mumbled, crouching down to help dig.

The prince shrugged. "It was all I had that would fit you. It was either that or a nightgown. I don't really have a lot of womens clothing."

"That's fine," Lily sighed, brushing the sand off her hands. "This fits just fine." She glanced down at it, grimacing slightly. The top was a green coarse shirt that ended above her belly, covered with a black, sleeved, leather vest with what looked like brass buttons. The pants were also black with a red sash that served as a belt and gold cords that laced up pointless slits on the upper outer thigh. The boots were comfortable though, coming up to her knee and seeming to be made out of some soft but sturdy leather.

She picked at a loose thread on her shoulder and glanced at the prince. He was wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants, though his boots were similar in style to the ones she had on. "Did you wear stuff like that at the castle?"

"To the utter despair of my butler, Jasper, yes." He chuckled, tossed his hair out of his face and pushed the toe of one boot into the sand. "He would rather I wear my royal regalia, but it's uncomfortable and I feel like I can't breath when I wear all that stiff, embroidered stuff."

Lily smiled and nodded. "I get where you're coming from. This itchy shirt is kind of pissing me off."

His face fell slightly and he shrugged. "I can try to find you something more comfortable, but I already told you I haven't got many girls clothes."

Reaver always had something sexy picked out for me, she caught herself thinking. It startled her and she shook her head. He just tried to kill me, remember? Can't fucking pine over that jackass now, or his fancy house and awesome stuff...

"What's the face for?"

Glancing up quickly she flashed a smile and shrugged. "Not meaning to make a face, sorry. Just tired and beat up from that shipwreck."

The young man's face creased with worry and he squinted out at the ocean. "Walter and Ben... I hope they're okay. Ben is pretty strong, but Walter is getting on in years and I'm afraid he might not have made it."

Lily reached out and patted his shoulder. "If we made it, they should be fine. Sucks that we didn't all wash up together."

He suddenly gave her a sharp look and stood up. "That's another thing. You. I'm not surprised I'm alive, I heal faster than most people because of my hero blood and training. But you? Like you said once, you're just a gypsy waif from Driftwood. How did you survive the shipwreck and that fall from the mast, and most importantly," he suddenly leaned forward, moving his face closer to hers, "how did Reaver's ship light on fire?"

Lily gulped and tried to scoot back. "I-I... I shot a red barrel and it must have-"

"An explosion? That nobody heard?"

"Uh, um..."

He pulled back and crossed his arms. "I'm tired of the lies. I can understand why you feel the need, but we're friends here. Also, we're alone. If you're going to tell me the truth, now is the time to do it. I've said in the past that I trust you, and I still want to, but I can't if you don't tell me what's really going on."

Lily looked at her feet, noticing a delicate golden design near the ankle of her boot. "You probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Try me."

She glared up at him, then raised her hand and shot a ball of fire at the unlit log next to them. The prince yelped and fell back, landing hard on his ass. Laughing a little, Lily smirked at him. "I'm a hero, like you."

"I don't know how you didn't expect me to believe that!" He exclaimed, getting up and brushing himself off. "You proved yourself quite..." He stopped and suddenly stared at her, his eyes wide. "A hero? By Avo, another hero! I really thought that my mother and Reaver were the last of them!"

"There's you too," Lily mumbled, then let out a "humph" when he knelt and put a hand on her shoulder. "What do you want?"

"Lily, I need you."

She blinked and was about to force a harsh laugh when he put up a finger and stopped her.

"Not like that, sorry. I mean I need you in my army, I need you by my side. The reason I'm doing all of this is because the only thing that can rally the people is a hero, and I'm the only one around. But now I find you! If we prove ourselves to the people of Albion together, we're sure to raise an army big enough to completely overthrow my brother's army no problem!"

Lily pulled his hand off of her shoulder and made herself grin lightly at him. "I guess."

"Don't you want to save Albion, Driftwood, Mistveil, Jack? The people and places you care about... wait." His eyes widened again. "Is Jack-?!"

"No!" Lily jumped in quickly. "No, and he doesn't know about me either."

"Is this why my brother wanted to kill you?" The young man rolled back onto his heels, pinching his chin inquisitively. "I remember when he banished the remaining descendants of heroes and anyone else with hero blood to Aurora. It was around the time he ordered all the remaining trolls to be hunted down." He sighed and looked at the crackling log. "I was younger, I didn't understand it all. But it would make sense that he would be keen on deporting any remaining heroes."

Lily just nodded and glanced uncomfortably around the shore. "So... are we cool? Does that clear up the whole lies thing?"

He chuckled and nodded. "All is forgiven, of course. You must have been terrified."

"Nah, there's not much that scares me."

"I believe it."

The two sat quietly for some time, the crackling fire and rolling ocean filling in the silence for them. Finally Lily sighed and looked around again. "We gotta find the others, or at least their bodies. Then we gotta find some clean water and food so we don't die."

The prince nodded and stood up. "I actually noticed a path going away from the shore up that way a bit," he pointed up the shore where the sun was beginning to droop. "We should get a move on too. I hate to think of Walter and Ben laying cold and dead in the dark."

"I'm sure they're fine," Lily said, gathering up her things and standing. "Let's go check out this path."

xXx

The two stood on a huge stone balcony that looked down on a huge room with a glowing hole in the middle. A huge, ruined descending staircase was to their left, and the way they came in was on their right. Crumbling pillars stood stubbornly among piles of rubble and filth and drafty gusts of wind kicked up waves of sand and dust. But for all that the two were fixated on what looked like might be a glowing portal in the center of the big room beneath them.

"Well... it's the only path through here," Lily pointed out, glancing around again to reaffirm her words. "And there's no other way back the way we came, so it's gotta be some sort of exit or passageway to somewhere."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," the look on the young man's face hardened into pure resolve, "We haven't gone this far and gotten so many people to stand up for Albion just to die in a dark and drab hole in the ground like this." He pulled out his guild seal and smiled grimly at Lily. "I'm going to swap out my rifle for my pistol. Stay here until I get back. Are there any weapons I can bring you?"

Lily realized at that moment that she had lost her sword during the shipwreck. She checked the strap around her leg to make sure her gun hadn't slipped, then nodded at her companion. "I need some sort of sword, and grab some ammo too, okay?"

He nodded, then vanished, leaving Lily alone and suddenly chilled in the dark. She tested the balcony rail by pushing on it, then leaned on it and gazed down at the glowing circle. Through the shining magic she could barely make out what she thought could be steps.

"Looks like a staircase, then." She muttered to herself, fiddling with her fingernails restlessly. She looked closer at some of the piles on the ground and her heart sank deep into the pits of her stomach when she realized there were human bones scattered about.

"What do you look so glum about?"

She turned and accepted the sword and bullets the prince was handing her. Her eyes went wide in her skull as she stared at the blade, admiring the craftsmanship that obviously went into it. "What's this beauty called?"

The young man smirked at her. "The Swinging Sword."

"Singing Sword?"

"No, Swinging."

She glared at him. "Are you implying something?"

He held up his hands, trying to look innocent. "It's either that or The Scimitar of Baron Slaying plus three."

"What on earth did you just try to say? Is that a DND reference?"

"A what reference?"

"Nevermind!" Lily laughed, covering her mouth to muffle the sound. "Let's drop it and get a move on, this place is creepy as fuck."

They carefully picked their way down the stairs, staring gingerly at the dry bone corpses littering the floor.

"Poor souls must have been trapped here like us." The prince knelt and gazed at a skull distantly.

Lily grimaced and scratched at the scar on her cheek. The ones on her palm and collarbone had started to itch as well. "Let's look around for something to get through here. I don't want to end up like that."

They both started casting around the room, digging through rubble and shifting through the brittle bones. After a bit of time Lily held up a tattered brown book. "Found something!"

Her companion also held up a torn piece of parchment paper. "Me too! Lemme read mine first!" He walked towards her while squinting at the writing on the page. "It's stained and smudged but I can still make it out: 'It speaks to us still. Darkness incarnate. We know now we can never escape it." His face went pale as he read and his hands trembled slightly. "Well this is... encouraging. What does yours say?"

Lily had a shiver stuck in her spine from the words in the note, but cleared her throat and flipped open her book. "This is pretty messed up too. Looks like most of the pages are missing. Here we go: 'Luminous spirits of the sand, impart daybreak and gleam under a quiet moon.' Huh, that's kind of pretty actually- oh!"

A pillar of lighted symbols exploded from the book in her hands before descending to blast through the glowing seal on the hole next to them.

"Oh." They said at the same time, then looked at each other.

"After you," Lily said, taking a step back and flipping through the book some more.

"No, no, ladies first, of course." The prince bowed and flourished his arms towards the spiraling staircase.

"Absolutely not." She slapped the book shut and tucked it into her back, peering down into the darkness. "That's a long way down... but I guess it's the only way to go."

The prince stepped onto the first stair, muttered something about the dark, then slowly started going down bit by bit. Lily followed him, five steps behind. As soon as their heads were below the ground level the glowing seal reappeared above them, causing them both to look up and shout.

"No!"

"What the fuck!"

"We're trapped!"

"Shit!"

Lily ran back up the few stairs behind her and slapped her hand against the seal. A muddy ringing sound thrummed in response, but the seal refused to change. She looked down at the prince who was staring up anxiously, then shook her head. "It's not gonna budge."

"Try the book again!"

"Look, there's no going back that way anyway! Let's just keep going and if we have to come back we'll deal with it then, okay?" She took several hard steps down towards the prince then pointed into the hole beneath them. "This is our best bet of getting anywhere else. Let's just go."

He nodded glumly, glanced at the seal one more time, then turned and continued descending into the blackness below.

xXx

After what seemed like an hour of carefully stepping down the stairs, avoiding slippery spots and crumbling patches, the two wearily stumbled into a huge hallway that expanded into a larger room. They could barely tell for the darkness, however, and pitched around blindly for several seconds.

"I can't see a bloody thing!"

"You're grabbing my bag strap! Let go!"

"I'm trying to find a torch sconce or something!"

"I'm not a sconce. Ugh! Hang on, this is ridiculous."

Lily held up her hand and concentrated a ball of fire into her palm. The hallways illuminated just enough for the two to squint and start making out their surroundings.

"Well I'll be damned if this place doesn't look just positively evil," Lily said darkly, kicking at a broken piece of rock at her feet.

The prince suddenly darted forward. "Look, look over here!" He triumphantly held up some sort of stick, then quickly darted back to Lily. "I found a torch. This will help you save your energy."

Lily lit the end being offered to her and let the flame in her hand go out. "Thanks for that. You wanna hang on to the light? I'll just fire up if I need to again."

He nodded and waved the light towards the room in front of them. "Let's see what's up ahead I suppose. This place gives me some serious creepy crawlies though."

"Yeah, me too."

On either side of them were rails and rubble and candles stuck in every which way. In front of them was a pathway that would have crossed a great chasm if it didn't abruptly stop, and on the other side was a door with another glowing seal like the one above them.

"Damn, do you see that?"

"Yeah. I hope that book works again."

Lily shifted her bag, quietly hoping he was right. "I don't see a way around, unless we jump off the path over there and climb up on the other side."

"I can do that and see if there's some way to summon a bridge or something. I think I see a lever over there, so I'll check that first." The prince handed her the torch and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, wish me luck."

"Don't let the dark get ya," Lily joked, watching him as he slid down a small slope of sand.

"Not funny!" He shouted back up at her. He hopped down a ledge then jogged quickly over to the lever without incident. He grabbed the lever, braced his body against it, and shoved with all his might.

Almost instantly the room began to shake and rumble. Lily yelled as giant chunks of stone fell from the ceiling and smashed and tumbled all around her. A huge stone slab slid out of the path in front of her, scraping against stone with a painful screeching sound before thudding into the rock face on the other side.

Getting up and removing her hands from over her ears, Lily sighed in relief and waved at the prince. "Well, if there's anything alive down here, they know we're here now!"

"Don't say that," he shouted back uneasily. "I can't imagine the kinds of things that would want to live down here."

"Probably just hollow men," she said, crossing the stone bridge and trying to act casual. In reality her spine felt like it was trying to curl up and her heart was starting to pound. "Y'know there's fucking hollow men everywhere."

"You don't have to tell me," the prince snorted, taking the torch back from her. "I've probably killed more hollow men than you've had hot dinners."

"I'd believe it."

The two stared silently at the sealed doorway in front of them. In the silence it emitted a low thrumming tone, sometime increasing in volume or rhythm. Just as Lily was about to mention it an ominous hissing voice crept through the room, setting them both on high edge.

"Well, are you going to try the book again?"

"I don't see why I have to read the creepy book."

"You said it was kind of pretty, and you were the one that picked it up. Therefore, it's your job."

Lily glared at him before fishing the tattered journal out of her bag and flipping through the pages again. "It's not that pretty anymore. God, this place is so fucking creepy."

A barely hearable laugh seemed to drift from the book as she opened it.

"Nope!" She slapped it shut and thrust it towards the guy slowly backing away from her. "Oh no, you take this! I'm not reading this fucking thing!"

"I'm not taking it! What if it's cursed!"

"Then I don't fucking want it!"

"You already touched it! You don't want to jinx both of us, do you?"

"Some brave and noble hero you are! Letting the girl take all the curses and shit. Fuck you!"

"Just read the blasted book so we can move on! I feel like something's watching us."

Lily opened the book again, this time graciously quiet, and quickly read the first thing she saw: "Luminous spirits of the sand, inhale the restless groanin- I mean gloaming... what the fuck is a gloaming?"

The seal shimmered, then vanished with a musical whoosh. The prince sighed in relief and stepped through, grinning at his small rattled companion. "There, see? That wasn't so hard. And gloaming is a time of day, like nightfall or dusk."

Lily pushed past him with a growl. "I don't give a shit what a gloaming is, I just wanna get out of here. Let's go!"

As soon as she passed the thresh hold the seal reappeared with a *zoop* noise. They both turned around and Lily gulped. "D-do you ever get a feeling? The feeling that someone is just playing with you?"

"All the time," he said grimly. He turned to her and took one of her hands with his free one. "Let's not linger. We have to press on."

Lily nodded and let him pull her deeper into the darkness. The black and mist and quiet was so thick it seemed like the ground was rolling upwards to meet them. Sand lined the path on either side and an eerie whistle had begun to blow through the air.

Suddenly a voice, like stone scraping on salted ice, dark and full of malice. It hissed and boomed at the same time, freezing the companions in their tracks.

"The light you bring will die. The light inside you will die. All that you are will die."

Lily felt her last nerve melt. She whimpered and grabbed the prince's arm, her eyes darting around in the darkness. "Who's there? What's that? What's going on?!"

The prince shifted as if to protect her with his body when the blackness shifted and dozens of glimmering white eyes suddenly peered out at them. He swiftly anchored the torch in the sand where it wouldn't smother and drew his sword.

Lily also drew her sword, but clung to the prince's side as the eyes seemed to roll forward as a wall. "Wh-what are they? How are we going to fight them?"

"Just be strong," he said, his voice stronger and more confident than he felt. "I won't let them hurt us, we can fight them off!"

The voice from before chuckled a deep rumble of a laugh. "The children are here to play."

Lily felt herself scream, a terrible frightened sound ripping itself from her throat as the eyes formed bodies and began to rush at them. "NOOO!"

The first wave was quickly mowed down as the prince swung his sword like a scythe through dry grass. "Look, they vanish as soon as you hit them! Swing your sword Lily!"

Her eyes were wide and riveted on the shadow figures rushing towards her. Never in her life had she been so frightened. Never had she ever imagined anything even could frighten her like this, but the ruined underground temple, the weird seals and strange noises, and now that voice and these creatures! She fell to the ground deflecting a stabbing black creature, shouting wordlessly as she spewed fire at anything around her that moved.

"Watch it Lily!"

She whimpered as she got back on her feet, backing away from the shapes as the scuttled at her. Stooping, twisted, wicked looking figures, barely human shaped with glinting, empty, white eyes and scraggy wings sprouting from their backs. A quick and scared thrust proved that it did indeed only take one hit to make them vanish, and her courage slowly started to trickle back.

"There you go!" The prince shouted, spinning and taking out three more creatures. "Don't let them scare you, they're wimps!"

She started launching fireballs with greater precision than before, watching the thick shadows melt away quickly beneath her onslaught. "I'm okay, just kill these fucks!"

The voice began to hiss and screech. "Watch your flesh turn to black. Watch your thoughts turn to black. Watch your fates turn to black."

Lily felt her knees go weak when the voice began to speak again. She cried out and place her back against a stone pillar, swinging her sword wildly as the creatures swarmed in numbers and began to close in on her.

"Bring me their hearts. Bring me their stomachs. Bring me their bile!"

The prince looked over just in time to see Lily get stabbed in the knee by one of the thrashing blades. "I'm coming!" He roared, barrelling through the masses of churning shadows.

"Kill. Kill!"

The pain from the wound wasn't like normal pain. It was chewing into her, like her flesh was actively being shredded and torn away around the blade. She screamed in agony and flashed fire in the offender's gleaming eyes before collapsing back against the pillar. Her leg started bleeding heavily, the pain shooting up and down her leg with remorseless jolts and throbs.

The prince came bursting into her vision suddenly like a whirlwind of fury and hacked the remaining monsters surrounding her to whisps. He immediately knelt beside her and tried to look at her knee. "Are you hurt badly?"

The gravelly, ominous voice from before spoke over him before he could finish: "You're tainted. The stain will never wash out. The sun will never shine upon you again. Tainted broken little toys."

Lily whimpered as her companion cut away the cloth around the wound and examined it.

"It's alright," he said in the most soothing voice he could muster. "You're going to be alright, we both are. Let's just fix you up, okay?"

The wound was deep and somehow black. Dark gray tendrils were beginning to creep into the skin around it already and the blood seeping out seemed too dark. The prince just shook his head and told himself it was the lack of light and his own fear that was causing him to see it like that. He dug out the water canteen and used what was left to wash out the wound.

"Let me," Lily said, her voice surprisingly strong.

He exclaimed in surprise when she produced a fire in her hand and planted it against the wound. She half-growled half-screamed and gnashed her teeth as her skin sizzled, then pulled back and flung her arms away, adrenaline surging through her.

"That was foolish," he said sternly before pulling out a long piece of cotton cloth he kept on him for deep wounds like this. "I'm going to tie it up anyway just to keep it tight in case something in there got severed."

Lily was still blinking away tears, but was somehow reminded of the last time she had sealed a wound like that. Reaver said I was a dumbass when I did that too. Fuck... that pain isn't going away. "It hurts," she hissed through her teeth suddenly.

He looked up at her and scoffed. "What did you expect?"

"Not that, the knife... I think it was poison or something, or cursed or infected or whatever the fuck is going on in this place!" Her voice reached a frenzy for a moment and she gasped to regain her breath. "It feels like something is chewing apart the inside of my leg. It's fucking horrible!"

He brushed his hair out of his eyes and bit on his lip slightly. "There's nothing we can do here. I can go to my sanctuary and see if Jasper has some medicine for pain if you want."

"No." She grabbed his arm tightly. "No, you're not leaving me alone in this place."

He nodded and took her hand, pulling back slightly. "Can you stand?"

"Lemme try." She struggled up, bracing hard against the pillar behind her. Her leg screamed with pain and threatened to buckle, but the thought of being crippled or carried out of there made her grit her teeth and gut through it. "Yeah," she gasped painfully, "Yeah, I can walk. I'm okay."

"You look like you're about to pass out. Look, I know I have a walking stick. Let me go get it for you. I know exactly where it is."

"Not until we get out of this room."

"Fine then. I'm still going to help you though." He supported her on her weak side, glancing towards the black mouth-like opening in front of them. "Let's push on then."

They stumbled out of the room and into a hallway where he gently lowered his companion to the ground. "Just hold the torch and don't move. I'll be back before you can take three breaths."

She actually counted and managed to make it through eleven breaths before he returned. Glaring up at him she nearly yelled at him for taking so long but noticed the pale look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"My- my sanctuary... it's... wrong. It's... tainted." He slumped to his knees and looked at her with hopelessness in his face. "What's happening?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. But we gotta get out of here."

He nodded and helped her up. Her leg felt like it was trying to heal but the pain was so bad. It had begun to spread all across her knee and was now creeping down towards her foot. She grunted when she had to put weight on it, but tried to focus on breathing and moving forward.

Glinting eyes suddenly appeared in front of them and Lily shrieked and stumbled back, falling hard on her ass. "M-more-!"

The squeaks and squeals above her quickly calmed her fears and made her feel like an idiot. The prince knelt to help her back up and she turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at his face. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"It's this place. Trust me, I'm just as scared as you are."

They carefully limped down a small set of stairs, both of them panicking and shouting when they accidentally ran into a tattered tarp. Past those was what looked like another balcony to their right, some grand and grotesque statues coming into view. They looked like nightmarish guardians, so detailed they could have come to life at any second. Down another flight of stairs, larger than the last, and then up an even larger one after that.

Lily looked up hopefully. "I think I can kind of feel a draft. Do you feel it?"

He sputtered as some of her hair got caught in the light breeze. "Mmphh, yeuck, yeah, I feel it. I got a taste of it too."

"Gross, dude." Lily muttered, looking up the remaining stairs in front of them. "I think we're getting close. Let's hurry."

He suddenly scooped her up to carry her and swiftly ascended the stairs. As they turned a corner they glimpsed a doorway, but slowed at the sound of hissing, whispering, jibbering... Lily shuddered and plucked at his sleeve.

"Either put me down or hurry."

He nodded and quickened his step, rushing into the doorway just in time for a blast of icy wind to knock them both over and extinguish the torch.

"NO!" Lily shrieked, trying desperately to summon her fire. Sparks sputtered uselessly from her fingertips, her will refusing to obey her in her haze of fear. She closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could, blood pumping into her face and making her cheeks hot as she forced a small plume of fire to sprout from her fingers. As soon as she felt the magic leaving her she opened her eyes...

She was face to face with a monster.

It's flesh looked like that of a drowned corpse, two smaller heads sprouting from either side of the big one. Huge long spiny teeth curved wickedly from just beneath black soulless eyes, all six staring at her at once. It breathed on her, a horrible gurgling hissing breath, and she screamed, pointing her hand at the center of it's face and forcing the fire to explode outward.

"Whoa, what is it?" The prince quickly relit the torch and knelt next to her, casting around for the source of her panic.

"A- a thing! It was a thing, a monster! It was white and cloaked and it had heads and big teeth and it's breath smells like death and-"

"Stop stop stop." He quickly hugged her, trying to calm her down. "It's gone. Whatever it was is gone."

She gasped. Her heart was out of control and she was dizzy. Everything hurt and the edges of her vision was starting to dim. "I- I'm having a panic attack!" she gasped.

"Shit, what can I do?"

"Just stay here." She closed her eyes and focused on breathing. In and out, in and out. Her leg was screaming in pain, her head was throbbing, her butt hurt from falling on it so many times, but she was alright. She was going to be fine. Finally she sighed and opened her eyes. "Okay, help me up."

He nodded and took her arm, bracing under her shoulder and helping her to her feet quickly.

They hobbled down the next set of hallways without words, but shouting when the voice began to plague them again.

"We are coming. We will devour your kingdom."

Lily clamped a hand over one ear, her heart starting to pound up into her head again. "Ffffuck! Make it stop! Make it go away!"

"There will be no bargains. There will only be darkness. The children command it."

"Avo!"

Lily looked up as the prince cried out and screamed when she caught a glimpse of the bloated caped creature. "That's it! Get away! Get away from it!"

He drew his pistol instead and sent a shot flying towards it just as it vanished. A wall of glittering eyes took his place and shadowy creatures began to swarm towards them again.

The prince quickly lowered Lily to the ground and stood in front of her, pistol in one hand and sword in the other. As quick as the creatures could swarm him they fell to his blade or bullets, his hero blood pumping at full till as he mowed down the threatening creatures.

The pain was almost unbearable. Lily grabbed at her leg and her head, rocking slightly on the ground and trying to focus for just long enough to try and throw some fire at the creatures. Once again her fingertips just sputtered uselessly, leaving her feeling more weak and defenseless than ever.

"Close your eyes. Those orbs of light offend us."

As if obeying the voice Lily squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears.

"Are you thinking of your loved ones now? How you will never see them again?"

The prince roared as he summoned a flaming whirlwind, sending it crashing through the mobs of creatures and thinning them considerably.

"Did the blind seer not tell you about us? Did she not warn you?"

The monster laughed darkly as Lily's head jerked up in surprise and the prince faltered for a moment, forcing him to dodge as a creature took advantage of his distraction and lunged. Lily shouted and kicked out at it with her good leg as it continued it's attack towards her. It fell back just to have the prince's sword rip through it's middle and cause it to vanish. He turned again to see the grotesque monster floating just beyond the rail of the balcony, taunting them. His eyes glowed a brilliant blue as he screamed and threw eight shining gold blades at it, piercing it on all sides.

Lily covered her ears and shrieked as the monster's death wail pierced the air, chilling the two companions to the bone.

The prince fell to his knees beside Lily, gasping with effort. "C'mon, we have to move. I think I killed it but we've got to get out of her now!"

She held onto his shoulders as he struggled back up, forcing herself to hobble as fast as she could to keep up with the prince's frantic pace. Her eyes darted back and forth as they reached yet another flight of stairs, noticing the halls were beginning to be piled with more and more sand.

"I- I think we- we're almost out," she panted.

The prince just nodded and shifted how he was holding her, trying to take more pressure off of her leg. He suddenly stopped and pushed her away from one side of the cave.

"What the fuck!" She snapped, then gulped when she saw black ooze drifting from the ground and floating up to disappear into the air. "What the fuck?"

"Don't look at it. Keep moving." His eyes were fixed on the many statues crowding the sides of the hallways. They all seemed to stare at them as they passed by.

The path turned sharply off into a cave, leading them up into an open area. Collapsing pillars and a stone floor were the only indication of a building from what they could see, and huge oily puddles of black ooze seeped from the cracks. The prince lowered Lily to a sitting position to investigate a steep ledge they had arrived at.

"Okay... alright." He stood up and stretched his back. "I think we're going to have to do this. "I'll jump down first, because I'm not injured, then you try to lower yourself down and I'll catch you."

Lily was so dizzy from the pain in her leg she could only nod. Though, she was noticing it wasn't her leg that hurt anymore. It was as though the very inside of her skin had turned to fire ants and were slowly devouring her. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to say, "yeah, fine."

He knelt and patted her shoulder. "Just hang on for a little longer, okay? I'm gonna get you out of here."

She just nodded at him. He stood and looked down the ledge, looked back at her, sighed and said, "here I go," before jumping down and landing with a heavy thud.

Lily pushed herself up and started to drag herself to the ledge. It was only a few inches away but it seemed like miles to her in her condition. Her head throbbed and she began to wonder if she was going to make it when a scraping, squelching noise behind her caught her attention. She pushed herself onto her back to see the hideous monster standing above her, all three faces twisted into fearsome smiles. Her breath caught for a second but as it descended on her she let out a desperate scream.

Then she saw black and felt nothing.

-x-

Phwew. That was a finger workout. Glad I got it all down though. Now I need another chapter still just to get them out of there though. Crap. I miss having fun banter with Reaver. Sigh, oh well. Soon my pretties. Soon.

Also the next chapter is going to be scary and intense. If you're squeamish or easily frightened or freaked out, I suggest you skip it. Honestly the chapter after it picks up almost seamlessly, so you'd only need to read it to understand the extent of psychological torture.


	26. Aurorian Detox

Chapter 27: Aurorian Detox

Okay so for some reason I'm having a load of trouble writing up the next chapter, so I'll just splice it in later. It's not totally necessary except for telling how they get out of the cave and what exactly happens to Lily when the Crawler takes her. If I forget to change this in the future and the chapter is already up... well :/ sorry. I know that was really dark and rough. Lily's been through a lot and I'm not finished with her yet. :)

Copyright Lionhead.

Warning: Language, scary stuff

-x-

"Are they going to be alright?"

"It's hard to say right now. The girl suffered a much harsher attack, but they boy is strong. He will recover soon, but she needs the aid of all of our skills."

"Hang in there Lily. I know you can get through this."

-X-

A black mist hung heavily around her, stifling and choking as it swirled around her limbs, lifting her hair and staining her white skin. She huddled in the abyss, neither aware of gravity or direction, merely floating in a spinning black void that whispered in her ear and crept through her pores to blacken her veins.

"Welcome home, child of darkness," hissed the voice of the creature, lost in the mist around her.

She tried to speak, but even trying to scream she could not utter anything louder than a strained whine. Her knees knocked into her forehead as she curled up more violently, shaking as she tried to fight off the smokey wisps that were trying to smother her. Leave me alone, she thought desperately. No more, please, no more.

"You beg for freedom? For release from your new kingdom? Dance with us, the children of darkness. Do not resist. You will find your greatest desires in the darkness, you must merely accept them."

No, she cried out in her mind, biting down on her finger as she searched for something solid to hold on to. No, leave me alone.

"Lily?"

She looked up, her eyes solid black as she searched for the source of the familiar voice. "Reaver?" she tried to call out, but her voice was choked to silence in the thick darkness.

"Lily, here!" A familiar gloved hand reached through the mist, gesturing for her to take it. "Come now, pet, I will take you home."

She lunged forward, grasping at the air as she tried to reach him. Reaver, she thought, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached. Get me out of here, please.

Her groping hand finally managed to grab the fingers on the end of the hand, and she was yanked forward towards what she thought would be Reaver. A figure appeared and she dared to smile when she made out the shape of the tall man, but the smile turned to a horrified, silent scream as she was suddenly embraced by a black, twisted figure, roughly in the shape of Reaver, but utterly horrifying. His face was gaunt and thready, his smile stretching from ear to ear, and his eyes were pitch black with empty white orbs at their center. Horns sprouted from beneath his hat and curled back behind his head, pushing through the greasy, tattered, gray-streaked hair that dangled limply around his gnarled face.

Lily looked down at the hand she had been gasping and screamed silently, trying to pull away from the thin, claw-tipped appendage that was clamped firmly around her wrist. She kicked out at him, but her foot was caught by a solid snake of fog that wrapped around her leg several times, pulling her feet first toward the gruesome doppelganger.

NOOO! Her brain screamed as she fruitlessly kicked and struggled against the hands and shadows that were groping her, gliding her effortlessly toward the creature in front of her. No, please, NO!

"Why do you resist?" the imposter sneered, leaning into her as she was now face-to-face with him. "I thought you enjoyed my touch. Shall I retrain you, my little Lily?"

Stop! Please stop! Lily cried wordlessly, trying to strike at him. You're not him, don't use that voice! Don't touch me, disgusting monster!

"You call me monster?" the false Reaver chuckled, leaning forward to lick her neck. "I thought you said I didn't mean to, that it was in the past. I thought you loved me for who I am now."

I don't! Lily kicked effortlessly, black rivulets of burning tears dripping down her face. Not you! You're not him! She tried to scream, again without avail, as she felt the creature's claws beginning to slip under her tattered clothes.

"So you would love me if I was beautiful again," he cackled, leaning his face close to her and smiling horribly. "What if I told you this is my true self. This is how I've been twisted by my choices and my fate." He licked her cheek, smacking his lips at the taste of the oily tears. "Your fear is so delicious. How can I taste more?" He looked down and grinned. "Maybe you are more potent-"

NOOOOO! Lily screamed in her brain, thrashing wildly. Her eyes, completely black, glowing red at their pupils as she fought violently and gnashed at everything that touched her. STOP TOUCHING ME! I CAN'T STAND IT! STOP! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!

The twisted figure stepped back just as the black tendrils surged forward, ripping at her clothes and hair and limbs. "Did you not ask me to help you? Dear dear, you are indecisive. It's either me or the shadows, my little pet. You had best make your choice quickly, because the darkness is not as kind as I."

Lily thrashed and squirmed frantically, her breath coming out in panicked heaves as she tried to fight off the creeping shadows that were trying to cover every inch of her. Stop! I would rather die!

The twisted Reaver stepped forward and smiled down at her black-streaked face. "Perhaps someday, my sweet, but not yet. The nightmare still has claim of you, and I have not had my fill yet either. Sleep tight, Lily. Perhaps tomorrow we shall have a bit of fun."

Lily opened her mouth to scream, but the blackness swarmed into her mouth and choked her, right before swarming towards her eyes, tiny teeth biting at the delicate organs.

Mercifully, silence fell and the void blacked out.

-X-

"There, look, her eyes opened a bit."

"They've been fluttering all day. That doesn't mean she's coming to."

"I'm telling you, it's different this time, she looked right at me!"

"Come, young men. It is late, and you are still weary. Let me prepare you a place to sleep. We will watch over your companion another night, and many more, if that is how long she needs."

"Thank you for healing her."

"Think nothing of it. Now go, rest. Your friend is getting stronger every hour. She may even awake by morning."

Lily's eyes fluttered open for a moment and she blearily saw Ben and the prince leaving with Walter. She struggled frantically to move, to call out to them, but she still couldn't move. Her mouth flapped open like a fish pulled from the water, and her eyes rolled from side to side.

"Be still little one, oh my. Have you awoken?"

Lily looked up at the strange woman. She was dressed in an exotic sort of dress and her face and bald head were striped with tattoos. Gulping breathlessly, she tried to nod, but only lolled her head to one side.

"If you are awake and can understand, then blink or look directly at me."

Lily did both.

"By the gods," the woman said, stepping back. "What strength, for someone who was so nearly consumed. Wait here, little one. Your friends need to rest, but there is another who desires to see you."

She swept out of the room as another, more elderly woman, swept a cool, wet cloth across her head. "You are strong, to fight off such a powerful possession. I have never seen one as deep into the darkness as you return. Drink this, it will make you stronger."

Lily's mouth was gently opened and she barely managed to swallow the bitter herbal concoction that was dribbled into her mouth.

A very tall figure wrapped in robes with a cowl around it's head stepped into the room, and the woman from before pointed at Lily.

"She is there, and seems to be awake. Do not distress her, she is still very weak."

Lily looked up at the figure swiftly stepped forward and dropped onto one knee on the cushions next to her bed, which seemed to be a stone slab with a blanket. The person bent it's head as it removed the cowl, then looked up at her with black eyes.

The woman smiled when Lily's eyes widened and said, "This man made port shortly before your friends and yourself were found. He was wondering if we had seen you foreigners, but inquired particularly after you."

Lily watched in amazement as Reaver glared back at the woman and said quietly, "Please, leave us. This will not take long."

The woman bowed and gestured at the older woman. "As you wish, but please call for us if she becomes distressed. She is still in a delicate condition and needs to be kept peaceful and still." With that the two women swept out of the room.

Lily stared at Reaver, trying to blink away the black wraiths that gnawed at the corner of her eyes. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but Reaver reached forward and pressed her lips shut with his finger.

"Shhh," he sounded softly. He stood and brushed off the robe he was wearing, before stooping to pick her up and sit so that her head rested in his lap.

Of course, Lily thought, looking up at him. But, what are you doing here?

"If you would like to know why I'm here, it is because I'm supposed to arrest you."

Oh, Lily thought, her face blanching a bit.

"And if you want to know if I'm going to, well..." He looked away, his face not changing from the stony stare he sported when entering the room. "I don't know. Shall I?" He peeked down at her, dark eyes examining her face.

With great effort, Lily shook her head a tiny bit, her head shifting from one side to the other.

"Of course not," Reaver chuckled looking away again. "What I meant to say, however, is that I have no intention of arresting you. I'm wondering if I should execute your friends. They did steal one of my boats and destroy another. What do you think, Lily?"

Another small head shake and a glare answered his question.

"And then the prince let this happen to you."

Lily blinked at him as he played with a tendril of her hair. What happened to me? She wondered. I wasn't majorly injured, I was just attacked by that thing, then got heat exhaustion, I think.

Reaver looked at her puzzled face and sighed. "Would you like to see yourself?"

A worried look and a weak nod answered him.

"Very well." He reached into his robe and pulled out a small looking glass, angling it so that she could see her face.

If Lily could have shouted, she would have. The face that stared back at her was now white as snow with thick, black veins twisting under her skin. Her normally blue eyes were pitch black, and the white around stained with dark, ugly tendrils that grasped at her dark pupils. A few small strands of her hair were shocked a medium-gray that clung to the sweat on her face, which oozed from her pores with a gray-red tinge. Her lips were dark blue and the skin looked as though it were stretched too-tightly over her skull, pinching and stretching at her cheekbones and jaw. She turned her face away and stared angrily into Reaver's chest, anger and shock buzzing around her brain and making her dizzy. Her cheeks got hot and her vision dark and in a moment of panic her arm swung up and grabbed desperately at Reaver's shirt.

He set down the mirror and took her hand gently, placing the cool rag back on her forehead. "You still do not wish for me to punish them for this?"

Lily could barely hear him from the noise of her black, droning thoughts. Why? I've never been vain, but I at least looked like a human. I look like a fucking zombie now. What the hell happened? Maybe... a cold sweat broke over her skin, giving her a weird red tinge. Maybe that dream... maybe I'm still possessed. Oh fuck, what should I do, oh shit. I can't have that thing inside me, I can't. I won't be able to stand it. She rolled her eyes to look up at Reaver, the image of his horrible double in her dreams seemed to scream at her from deep within her brain. She began to struggle, pulling on the tall man who was holding her.

"Be still," he said quietly, trying to hold her steady. "You'll make yourself faint. Lily!"

She struggled harder, trying to pull on his shirt so that he could understand what she was thinking. Help me, help me! Help me!

He pulled her completely into his lap and held her tightly, pinning her so she couldn't squirm anymore. "Be still," he said firmly, trying to wipe the sweat off her face. "Whatever it is, they are making you better. But you have to stay still."

She clutched at his shirt and opened her mouth against his chest, shrieking out a silent scream.

His body froze and he pushed her back, looking at her black, haunted, terrified eyes. "Lily- what?" He pushed the hair away from her face, trying to peel black strands off her skin. "What's happened?"

She gaped at him, trying to force her mouth to work, but like in the dream all she could let out was a tiny, mewling whine. "Eee-er-" The force of the sound made her choke and cough violently, exhausting her already-weak body.

Reaver had to lay her back down on the bed and quickly leave the room. He stormed outside, blowing past two healers like a tornado of fury and fire. He quickly turned to the left and flew into a corridor where he stopped, whirled, and punched a wall of stone so hard the ground trembled. "Why?" he growled, his voice grating with a sound more terrible than a hundred balverines. "Theresa, you bloody cunt. Show yourself you miserable hag!"

A faint shimmering vision of the old seer glimmered a few feet away. "I have no answers for you Reaver. When Lily was possessed, her mind was black and I was blind to her. She could not be retrieved. Even now I can not reach her, though a few shreds are beginning to return."

"Don't bother me with your riddles, witch!" Reaver roared, springing up in a whirl of dusty sand. "Tell me what has happened to her!"

"There are somethings I cannot-"

"Don't jerk me around, you blind sideshow stunt!" His eyes shone like black fire as he struck at the stone again. "I have never seen that kind of fear in anyone's eyes before, much less hers! That woman has steel for bones, poison for blood, and weapons for limbs. She has the strength of a troll and the ferocity of a balverine! So tell me," his voice broke as he slammed his bloody fist into the indent he had made, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?"

His voice echoed through the silent, dying town, accompanied only by the soft thump of the tall man slumping into a sitting position against the wall.

Theresa took a few steps forwards and brought herself to eye-level with Reaver. "I have never seen you care so much for a person, Reaver. How far will you allow your obsession to go with this student of yours?"

"Enough," he snarled. "I wouldn't wish the tortures she has been through on any creature, much less a companion of mine."

"You have done exactly that though, Reaver. Many times. You did it to Sparrow when she went to rescue that girl you condemned. Do you consider this girl more valuable than she?"

"I never thought that Sparrow would live," Reaver hissed, thrusting his hand through his hair. "And whatever Lily went through was far more torturous than that, so don't try to condemn me now, bitch." He stared up at her with fury-filled eyes. "Just tell me what did this to her."

"It is called the Crawler."

"The what?" Reaver scowled, then grinned monstrously. "It matters not. It has a name, so it has a form. I'll find the beast and drag it back here, then slaughter it slowly in front of Lily."

"You cannot fight this creature, Reaver," Theresa chided softly. "You can only run. And when there is no where else to run, then only one person will be able to fight it."

"Who?"

"The decedent of the last true hero of Albion."

"Oh, piss." Reaver scowled and spat onto the ground next to him. "I'm ten times the hero that sniveling brat could ever hope to be. Even Lily is stronger than him."

"That is the fate of Albion."

"You and fate have always been fond fuck-buddies, haven't you?" Reaver struggled up and flexed his bleeding hand. He looked back at the mirage of the seer and quietly asked, "If you can, would you at least tell me what this Crawler did to Lily?"

"I cannot imagine, because when I look for the creature I can see only darkness. I'm sorry, Reaver." She shimmered as she began to fade away, but held up one hand. "I can tell you this though. Your Lily will recover, and she will continue on to be a great hero. She is of stronger spirit than to let this cripple her. You will see. Have hope, and do not let her die."

Reaver stared until she vanished, then dropped his face into his hand. "Bloody useless," he growled, glaring up at the softly-glowing entrance to where Lily was resting.

-X-

Lily frantically rolled her eyes and head from side to side as the healers hushed and tried to soothe her. Reaver, she thought as loudly as she could, screaming with her brain. Reaver?! Where the fuck did you go? Get back here! Don't leave me alone!

"Drink this, young one. It will help you sleep."

Oh fuck no! Lily thought, clamping her mouth shut and twisting her face away. I'm not going back to sleep to get tentacle raped by shadows and molested by monsters. Like hell!

"Hush now, small one. It will soothe your mind and calm your spirit."

That's what you think, bitch!

"There now, the taste is not pleasing, but it will make you well."

Lily choked against swallowing the liquid being poured into her mouth, desperately trying to puke it back up or reject it somehow. The healer stroked her throat gently, coaxing her into swallowing as the other healer held her mouth shut.

"If she doesn't want it, stop forcing her!" Reaver snarled, suddenly looming behind the women.

Ironic, Lily thought with a gag and a cough.

The first woman stepped forward and frowned. "It is for her own good. If she does not sleep, she will not get better. She does not yet understand that resting is more helpful than her sleep is frightening."

Reaver pushed them aside and scooped up Lily, holding her head against her chest as she choked down the rest of the sleeping draught. She struggled fitfully, grasping limply at his arm as she slipped away, her head lolling back and her eyes sliding shut.

"Please leave, she needs to rest undisturbed. When she wakes she will have more energy. Enough to start regaining her senses."

Reaver glared up at the woman. "I respect your healing skills, Kalin. You are wise and gifted at what you do. But you didn't see her eyes." He turned the unconscious girl as she stirred fitfully in her sleep. "I don't know what happened to her, but it must be beyond what you could imagine."

"You are wrong, master Reaver." The woman motioned for the other healers to leave and placed herself in front of the glowering man. "I have seen the look, not in her eyes, but in the eyes of many others, including my father and my brothers. I have seen the terror and the agony, but I know how to heal it. Not just the body, but the mind as well. She has been taken by a great darkness and needs to be coaxed back to the light. She is strong of body, with a will of iron, but right now she is small and weak and terrified. My healers and I must care for her in a way that she recovers her strength and her peace as steadily as the other, otherwise she will break and fall back into the darkness. She will be lost, with no chance to be saved."

Reaver hugged the girl as she stirred again, kissing her temple possessively. "Is there no draught that can give her a dreamless sleep?"

"There is no potion so powerful, I'm afraid. She must fight her demons as she sleeps, there is nothing we can do to prevent it."

"I will stay here a while longer," Reaver said quietly, turning his dark eyes up toward the woman. "And I have more questions."

Kalin crossed her arms behind her and nodded. "Of course."

-x-

There you go! Reaver is finally back but being sneaky and Lily is on the road to recovery! Will she really be okay? Let's see. Muahahaha.

Gods, I feel bad.


	27. Infection

Chapter 28: Infection

Hello all and welcome back! Thank you for reading this far, I hope you're enjoying the story! Lily is still in recovery so we'll be seeing a little more of that today. Some interaction with the prince and co and also with Reaver! More dark stuff and such and, yes, Crawler Reaver will be coming back. He mostly floats around in Lily's dreams and stuff, just prodding and teasing her and such, but he will be there.

Copyright - Lionhead

Warning: Language, scary situations, sexual situations

-x-

Lily's eyes sprang open, her chest heaving as she fought for breath. She could still feel the gnawing of the tiny sharp teeth that bit from the darkness, and she could feel the claws and teeth of the pale-skinned monsters that raked and tore at her skin. The Reaver creature was pursuing her relentlessly every time she closed her eyes, his dangerous hands constantly grabbing and tearing at her body. She limply moved her hand to her collarbone, feebly feeling to see if the skin on her neck was intact, then slumped back wearily.

"Lily!"

Her eyes rolled to see the face of the prince smiling eagerly at her. He looked a little pale, his eyes a little darker, with black circles and a sunken look, but other than that he looked mostly normal. She did her best to smile and dragged her hand toward him.

He grasped it eagerly, pressing a warm kiss onto the clammy skin and chuckled with relief. "I'm so glad you're finally awake. We were worried you weren't going to make it for a time there."

Lily smiled weakly and tried to speak, but her throat closed instantly and threatened to choke her.

"Sh, don't talk. The healers say that you won't be able to talk properly for a while." He winked at her. "But I'm sure you'll make a very quick recovery. Your blood is good for that, isn't it?"

Lily nodded a bit and looked around the room. It was empty save for herself and the prince and one healer that was mixing a potion in the corner.

The prince stood up. "You probably want to see Walter and Ben! I'll go fetch them right now! They'll be thrilled to hear you're awake and kicking. Well, not really at the kicking stage yet, but at least you're responsive." He smiled at her again before dashing out of the room.

Lily turned her head back so she was staring at the ceiling, trying to shake off the cold chill the dream had left settled over her. The healer strode toward her, her smooth walk making it seem like she was gliding, and knelt next to Lily's bed.

"Drink this, young one. It will put strength back in your limbs. Perhaps we could coax you into eating a bit as well."

Lily recoiled at first, then noticed that the brew didn't smell like the sleeping draught from the night before. Well, what the hell, she thought, and accepted the drink eagerly. It tasted like cranberry juice and flowers, sour and fragrant. It soothed her swollen, parched tongue and she gulped it greedily.

A massive figure suddenly blocked all of the light coming through the door and boomed, "I hear our Lily is awake! Where is the girl?"

Lily turned her head and smiled as the big soldier waltzed up to her and plopped down onto the cushions next to her bed.

"There's that strong girl I know! Welcome back, lass!"

"Glad to see you back in the land of the living," Ben announced, leaning on the foot of her bed and grinning happily. "It sure takes a lot to kill you, I'll give you that! You're as tough as your old friend Ben!"

Lily felt warmth seeping into her limbs and she tried to sit up, only managing to raise her head a little.

"Hold it now, don't try to move or exert yourself," Walter said in a fatherly tone, pushing her back down. "You're still weak, and we don't want you passing out again."

"You look terrified when you sleep," Ben said quietly. "Like you're being hunted or tortured. It must have been a downright horror, what you and the prince here had to go through."

Lily's eyes moved to look at the prince, catching a glimpse of the dark, painful fear that she was so desperate to escape. He looked back at her and smiled understandingly, taking her hand. "Poor Lily got the worst of it. But I'll swear on my life she saved me from that thing. I'll never forget that."

She cleared her throat and half garbled, half whispered, "No problem."

"Did ya hear that?" Walter boomed, his face almost disappearing in a jolly smile. "The lass is speaking already too! Lily, my girl, you will never cease to amaze!"

"Where's Reaver?" she asked hoarsely, looking around weakly.

"Reaver?" Ben asked, scowling. "We left him behind before we were shipwrecked. He probably thinks we're dead, and we're better off for it." The blonde man smirked and smacked a fist into his palm. "Just as well, we will just have to take advantage of that when we return!"

The prince shook his head. "According to Walter and Ben there was no sign of Reaver or any of his ships when they arrived here. We're keeping an eye on the seas, but there's no sign of him yet. I think we'll be safe here."

Lily nodded then looked away. It was fuzzy, but she was sure Reaver had been there last night. Not the monstrous Reaver either, the real human Reaver. Well, almost human. She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe another dream? It didn't feel like one.

Walter squeezed her other hand and smiled gently."Don't worry about that pompous old ass. Just worry about getting better, alright?"

Lily smiled and croaked, "Alright."

"That is enough excitement for the time being." Kalin stepped into the room holding a bowl and a spoon. Two younger women stood behind her holding a small, steaming cauldron. "She needs to be fed and then we must work with her for some time."

"Please, may I stay?" the prince asked, standing up and looking at the three. "I won't get in the way. I will do anything you want to help, but I would like to stay with her."

Kalin looked at Lily. "You have found your voice, young one. What do you prefer? Do you want him to stay?"

Lily nodded a little and whispered, "Yes."

"Very well, but you other two, get out. We must begin working on her muscles as soon as she is nourished so she can regain her strength."

Walter gave Lily's hand one more squeeze and Ben kissed the other before the two left, looking back at her with winks and waves.

"Now then," Kalin said as she scooped some of the broth out of the cauldron. "I will feed her."

"Are you going to do to her what you did to heal me?" The prince asked, sitting back and staying out of the way.

"It is necessary, if she wants her body to be her own again. The weakness is not from physical damage or fatigue, but from the darkness paralyzing her limbs. The methods we use may seem odd, but they chase the darkness from the body and the mind so that the person can live as themselves once more."

The prince nodded and sat back. "That's what you said to me right before you began your treatment."

"What... fucking treat—ment?" Lily growled brokenly before swallowing another spoonful of broth.

"We must draw the darkness out of your veins," Kalin explained patiently. "In order to do that we will open up seven parts of your body where the darkness is thickest. The head, the chest, the stomach, and both of your hands and feet. After that we will cover you with special herbs, oils, and ointments that cleanse and chase poison out of blood. As the seven wounds bleed, the darkness will pour out and we will throw the black blood into the fire, destroying it."

"It took three days to fully cleanse me," the prince chimed in. "Kalin said it might take a little longer for you though."

"Her infection is much deeper and stronger than yours was, hero prince." Kalin turned to refill the bowl and offered another spoonful to Lily who took it greedily. "You have a good appetite. It is good, you need the strength for the treatment ahead."

-X-

"Owww..." Lily complained, flexing her limbs a little. "The wounds... are open. Y-you don't need t-to keep... cutting them."

Kalin threw another bowl of black blood into the fire, the flames raging bright red as they eagerly consumed the impurity. "You heal very quickly. We need to keep the wounds open or they will close before the treatment is complete."

"We've taken a lot of blood out of her," the prince said, gnawing his lip with worry. "Are you sure it isn't too much?"

"This is the worst case I have ever seen," Kalin said, shaking her head. "Very little of what we have removed is blood. It is mostly the slime of the darkness in her veins. You need not worry. We are very skilled at this, with all the victims we have had."

The prince sighed deeply, then yawned.

"You should sleep, young prince." Kalin began to clean and bind Lily's wounds, motioning for the other healers to do the same. "We will be done for the night and let Lily sleep. She needs her strength for tomorrow."

"No," Lily whispered hoarsely, causing the prince to look at her in surprise. "D-don't make me sleep."

"I'm sorry, young one," Kalin said, throwing blackened rags into the fire. "You must face your nightmares if you are to recover. A restless sleep is better than none at all."

The prince looked away and Lily could tell he knew exactly what nightmares Kalin was talking about. Still, she shook her head stubbornly.

"Lily," the prince reached forward, but Kalin stopped his hand.

"Leave her to us. We are used to the refusals. She does not yet understand that the pain of being awake will soon be much greater than the horror of her nightmares." The woman turned her wise eyes on Lily. "If you do not sleep, you will be consumed by the darkness of nightmares, lost forever in a trance from which you will never wake. The nightmares you fear will become your reality, with no hope for escape."

Lily gulped, then nodded slightly.

"Do not fear, young one. Some of the darkness is gone now. Your dreams will not torment you quite as much. Lay still while we prepare your draught."

The prince stood with Kalin, then ducked back down to pick Lily up in a hug. "It will be alright. The nightmares start to go away after the treatments. I'll be back in the morning. Sleep well."

Lily smiled, then recoiled slightly when he kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered warmly, then stood and briskly walked away.

Lily dragged her hand to her mouth to wipe away the warmth he had left and frowned. Her hand fell back at her side, the wound on her hand tingling painfully as it thumped onto the cloth-covered stone.

"You do not return his feelings?" Kalin asked, sitting next to her with a damp cloth. She took a larger one and wrapped the black hair in it, immediately cooling Lily and relieving a throbbing headache.

"N-not the way he wan-nts." Lily said with great effort.

Kalin nodded sagely, then looked up as one of the priestesses whispered in her ear. "Your other friend is here to see you."

Lily looked up in time to see Reaver, once again wrapped in robes and disguised with a cowl, step into the building and stride towards her.

"Wh-why don't they kn-know he is here?" Lily asked.

"He asked me to keep it hidden so that he could act in secrecy," Kalin explained, still rubbing Lily's limbs with the wet cloths.

"Shall I take over?" Reaver asked, bending over to look Kalin in the eye.

The serene woman stood and handed Reaver the bowl and rags without a word. "My girls can change her clothes."

"I believe I can handle that as well," the tall man said with a smirk. He then proceeded to ignore her and knelt next to Lily to continue washing her. "Hello, m'dear."

Lily smiled painfully. "Hello, R-Reaver."

He slowly ran the damp cloth over her cheek, looking at her face carefully, then pulled out a knife and quickly began removing the rough tunic she was dressed in.

"D-don't cut it-it Reaver!" Lily croaked as the tunic was quickly shredded and yanked off of her body.

He simply ignored her and stood, picked her up, turned her over, and began washing her back.

With great effort she turned her head to face him. She opened her mouth to speak but was silenced with an icy stare. She frowned at him, then spoke anyway. "I didn't k-kiss him back."

He glanced at her, then looked back at what his hands were doing. "How could you? You can barely move."

"I d-didn't want him to kiss me."

"Mm." He lingered around her upper thighs for a moment, then swept the rag down her legs. "It's no business of mine who you consort with."

"W-what happened t-to being owned by y-you?"

"Well that changed when you ran off with these filthy rebels."

"Y-you left me b-b-behind!"

His dark eyes darted to her face and stared. "I gave you the opportunity to stay."

"I thought w-we were going t-together."

"I changed my mind."

"How was I supposed to kn-know? Ack!" She suddenly started coughing, her body shrinking into a ball with the force of her convulsions. "I-if y-y-you don't- hack hack- t-tell me, how c-can I- cough retch- know?"

He silently helped her drink some water, then stretched her out on the table on her back again. "I don't expect you to magically understand my whims."

"Clearly you do," Lily rasped, still breathing hard.

One of the healers presented Reaver with a clean tunic and a new blanket, then scuttled away. Silently, Reaver sat her up and guided the soft clothing over her head and down her body, tugging it into place with gentle motions. He laid a hand on her thigh and rested his head against his arm, his eyes closing with a sigh.

"I'm not s-sorry."

"I know you're not."

"I s-still want to help th-them."

"I would expect nothing less."

"W-why are you ups-set?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I take my eyes off of you for one measly hour or so and you sail off and do this to yourself. You could have been killed." His dark eyes rolled to stare at the corner of the room, his face still impassive. "I'm not upset, I'm exhausted. You young heroes are always charging into these live or die scenarios, and I've been given the impossible task of keeping you alive." He sighed and straightened up. "I never meant to board that ship with you, but those rebels separated us, so I could not steal you away in the confusion."

"Why?"

"Why did I not intend to go to Aurora?" Reaver chuckled and stroked the curve of her hip with his fingertips. "I am a selfish old man, my dear. I would much rather keep you to myself in Albion where I can hide you and have you to myself. You are like a beacon, as all heroes are. As you experienced just now," he gestured at the door, "every man who encounters you will want you. Some women too. They will be pulled to you, even against their will." He clenched a small part of her tunic in his fist, his eyes stormy. "You could say I'm jealous, if you like. It's like having a fine treasure. You don't leave it laying around for anyone to take for themselves, you guard it and admire it's beauty and it's worth." He looked at her thin, pale face, still threaded with black veins. "The more people who handle something so precious, the more tarnished it becomes."

"You think I'm t-tarnished now?"

Reaver chuckled and traced a circle on her belly with his finger. "What kind of real treasure is not supposed to be used? My gun is a precious treasure, but it is also a tool. It gets dirty and battered, but that is the nature of things. It can always be repaired. It is when someone else damages it," his dark eyes momentarily flashed in anger, "that you begin to learn why you must keep some treasures to yourself."

Lily sighed. "You've lost me, and y-you're teasing me."

Reaver looked up and raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

She looked down at his wandering hand in exasperation. "Y-you know how."

He leaned forward, tracing his fingers up her body to cup her chin. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

The black-haired girl looked to one side and smirked. "R-Reaver, I'm injured. H-have you n-no shame?"

He teased a finger in-between her lips and kissed the knuckle that hovered above. "I'm not overly familiar with the word, no."

Lily smiled and nipped at his finger. As he pulled it back a sharp pain flashed at the back of her head and black tendrils swarmed into the corners of her eyes, rapidly blinding her. Her eyes flew open in panic and she tried to sit up, put out her arms, grab onto something, anything that would keep her grounded. The manic voice of the Crawler whispered and cackled deafeningly in her ears.

"We still have you! You are a child of the darkness now! Your voice is ours, to serve only our kingdom! Your eyes will not see what we do not allow! You are one of the children now! Join the choir of the agonized, you will not escape us!"

"NOOOOO!" Her scream was other-worldly as she thrashed and grabbed at anything at all. A large, warm figure enveloped her and she could hear shouting. Through the black fog covering her sight she looked to see who had seized her, and the grotesque doppelganger leered down at her, his slashed smile dripping with black poison. "Don't touch me!" she shrieked, beating at him. "Stop! Get away!"

She was suddenly forced down onto an icy surface that felt like it was covered in daggers, causing her to scream in pain. Strong, beastly, claw-tipped hands forced her down harder, she could feel the skin on her back being shredded.

"Stop!" she screamed. "You're killing me!"

Her mouth was forced open and a black shadow minion appeared with a glowing red cup, about to pour it into her mouth. She screamed and gnashed, but the hideous hands held her mouth open as the minion began to pour glowing, molten metal into her throat, scalding her mouth and insides as it burned her.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

Reaver grunted and withdrew his bitten hands from her mouth as she thrashed and grabbed at her throat, gurgling horribly. "What happened?" he asked breathlessly, pushing black hair out of his face. "She was perfectly fine a moment ago."

"This happens often during the treatments," Kalin explained, still restraining her. "It is the darkness trying to keep hold on her." She looked up at Reaver and a rare smile crossed her face. "This is a good sign. Most people try to welcome the darkness after the first treatment. She is very attached to life, and refuses to give in. So this outburst is encouraging."

Lily had calmed to the point where she was nervously huffing and twitching a bit, looking around the room wildly. Her eyes were pitch black all the way through, and they were wide open, staring unnervingly at everything. Eventually she was still, breathing heavily, as the black began to creep away and withdraw from her eyes until there were only a few small dark veins left. She blinked and looked around, her vision returning slowly. "Did... did I f-fall asleep?" she croaked, her voice shredded.

Kalin shook her head. "You were attacked by the darkness inside of you. The treatments will bring these on from time to time. The infection will not leave your body without a fight."

Lily nodded, still breathing heavily. She looked over at Reaver and grinned at how worried he looked. "W-well then. Shall w-we s-start back at where w-we left off?" She was taken by surprise when he pulled her into a hug, tugging the towel off of her hair and clenching her fiercely. "I'm fine," she gasped. "R-really. It was just a f-fit."

He sighed and slacked off his hold a bit, letting her head rest on his chest. He looked up at Kalin and blinked. "Leave her potion on the table. I will give it to her before I leave."

Kalin nodded and stood, but paused and looked at the two.

"Now!" Reaver snarled, tightening his grip on the limp figure.

"I'm f-fine, really." Lily looked up at him as Kalin walked away and meekly kissed the bottom of his chin. She squeaked in surprise when his head came down and he slammed his mouth into hers, gripping the hair on the back of her head as he ravaged her mouth.

When he was barely satisfied he raised his head and hugged her tightly again. "Avo, I've missed you."

Lily was dumbstruck. "Are you s-sure you're not t-the sick-ck one?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Quite sure, my dear. It's just that, I'm afraid I've become attached to you." He lowered his head again to kiss her forehead, then her ear, then the crook of her jaw, and down onwards.

"W-what do you m-m-mean?" Lily mumbled, too unwilling to resist.

"Don't be coy, you minx," Reaver growled, nibbling on her collarbone. "You left me fairly unsatisfied back in Albion. I had to chase you across the seas just to have the chance to take you again."

Lily tried to raise her hand to grab at his shirt, hold his arm, anything, but the muscles would do little more than twitch aimlessly at their destination. Reaver chuckled into her skin and laid her back on the stone bed, hooking her fingers in the folds of his robes.

"How I wish I could take you right now, in this sacred place," he whispered as he nuzzled her breasts. "But," he withdrew quickly and placed a finger over her protesting lips. "I will just have to wait until you have recovered. If you are displeased," he leaned close to her and sucked on her lower lip for a moment, "Then recover quickly, so I can have you."

Lily nodded slightly, squirming with frustration.

"Alas, I fear it is time to sleep."

"B-but-"

"No no, my pet. If you are to heal more quickly than my patience frays, you must get proper rest." He grinned and popped open the potion bottle with his teeth.

Lily smiled when he poured it into his own mouth, then planted his lips on hers, forcing her to swallow the bitter medicine. She gulped a few times, smiled and said, "Thank you, Reaver."

He took a mouthful of water and offered that to her too, kissing her when she swallowed it all. "Good girl. Now sleep."

-x-

Ready to get on with the story? Me too. Let's do this.


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